Comments on: Fast Break Thoughts

By: kate

kate — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:16:13 +0000

well said, finally a good report on this stuff

By: chearn fan

chearn fan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:13:18 +0000

This is the best team from 1-15 that Lamar Odom has ever played on, and I imagine that Lamar is not completely devoid of common sense and will realize that this is his last and best chance for a championship.
He will shore up his defense because he will no longer be required to be an offensive threat.
I believe that Lamar has finally found his role–as a complimentary player.
Yea, for Lamar!

By: DMo

DMo — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:46:22 +0000

45: Obviously Ariza is our best defensive option, but Walton is our worst. And tonight Lamar’s defense behind the 3-point line on that last Magic possession saved us. I’m not saying this in any kind of gotcha way, but it at least shows he is capable of getting the job done. Yes, he is inconsistent. We all know this. But it’s better than being consistently bad (Walton). So, until Ariza gets back, I stand by my assessment.

By: drrayeye

drrayeye — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:23:47 +0000

(44) Great analysis,

but we better wait to see how this unfolds. I think that Turiaff is a natural complement to Gasol at center and Walton will learn all the rotations better for team defense.

However, I’m not sure that Gasol will play ANY minutes at center.

I think Turiaff will get his minutes, but I’m not sure where.

43 says, “Odomâ€™s poor perimiter defense is correctable.”

I bet that was what his high school coach said. And then his college coach. And then the Clippers. And then the Heat. And now the Lakers. . . . . .

I was about to credit Lamar with refraining from the patented “Oh! No! Dumb” threes that he seems to need to get out of his system each game in the last two victories, only to see him upchuck three of them in our loss to Atlanta.

I even remember back to a game in which Lamar made some offensive rebounds–but not recently. Only Pau.

The Lakers management definitely still shares our almost mystical belief in this fantasy “Lamar” that occasionally appears fleetingly, rarely for a whole game–but they don’t really know where to play him.

Gasol just filled the only starting slot that was available to Lamar. Unless he is injured, Luke is in at the 3–and he has a long term contract to prove it–and both VladRad and Trevor are going to play as well.

Lamar is an inegma–and yet his role may well determine whether or not we win a championship this year.

By: exhelodrvr

exhelodrvr — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:29:34 +0000

I think Lamar is a better PF than Turiaf, and Gasol is a betterC than Turiaf. Because of that, once everyone is healthy, I would like to see Gasol split his time between PF Bynum’s backup, with Lamar getting the bulk of the PF minutes. That puts Gasol against backup centers approx half the time, and against PF approx half the time. He wins all the matchups against backup C, and most of the matchups against the PFs. Half of Lamar’s time is against backup PFs, where he wins, and half against starting PFs, where he probably breaks even. Bynum wins most matchups against the other team’s starting C.

Bynum – C – 32 minutes
Gasol – PF – 16 minutes, backup C – 16
Odom PF – 32 minutes

I think Ariza is a better perimeter defender than Odom, which is a weak point of this roster, so IAriza should start at SF, with Walton and Vlad splitting the rest of the time.

Fisher and Farmar at PG, Kobe and Sasha at SG.

That leaves Turiaf out of the rotation, which is unfortunate because he is a great guy, but that’s not my concern right now if I’m the coach. I think it does make Odom somewhat expendable in the offseason, unless he is willing to take a pay cut to extend his contract.

By: DMo

DMo — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:05:41 +0000

Odom’s poor perimiter defense is correctable. Luke’s lack of athleticism is not. The minutes will ultimately come out of Luke’s PT, not Odom’s.

By: Craig W.

Craig W. — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:41:01 +0000

I would agree with you if Lamar keeps leaving his man open at the 3pt line, but Phil really likes Lamar’s ability to fill multiple holes in the offense and Luke’s primary value is as an offense facilitator and spot up shooter. The problem is how does Luke help you if you have multiple good passers in at all times without him?

By: drrayeye

drrayeye — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:30:09 +0000

40 Craig,

We’ll have to see how things work out. On a radio interview on AM570, Mitch indicated that Bynum was the 5 and Gasol the 4, but not that Odom was the 3. In fact, Mitch said that Lamar would get his minutes due to his versatility and ability to create a mismatch. Considering how Odom has played at the 3, this is hardly surprising.

Judging from Mitch’s comments, I’d suspect that it would be Odom, not Walton, who’d get his minutes reduced. However, none of this is a done deal. That’s what makes it so interesting.

By: Craig W.

Craig W. — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:55:04 +0000

I suspect Walton will see his minutes shrink a bit. He will be used to sub for injuries and off-nights.

I would guess Gasol will be starting PF and Turiaf the backup, with both being able to slide to center as required. Lamar and Ariza will hold down the SF spot, with Lamar sliding to PF as required. Vlade will swing between SF & PF as required by scoring requirements and game play. Ariza will be able to slide to SG if Kobe or Sasha are required elsewhere.

With a first unit of Fisher/Kobe/Lamar/Gasol/Bynum we have 2 3pt shooters (Fish/Kobe) and 2 midrange shooters (Lamar/Gasol). This is probably the strongest unit.

Among the others the 3pt shooters are Farmar/Sasha/Vlade. Defenders are Ariza and Turiaf. Turiaf probably should be in there if Bynum is out because of his defense, not necessarily at center tho.

By: drrayeye

drrayeye — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:04:38 +0000

The Lakers will have plenty of drama fitting all of their pieces together. If we consider Coby Karl to be the only true reserve, the Lakers are 12 deep. Phil will certainly want to draw various combinations from that 12, but first he must see how well they work together.

The rotations at pg and sg seem to work well among Derek, Jordan, Kobe, and “the Machine.” One could imagine further help from Odom and Ariza–especially if and when Kobe migrates to the SF.

The real work is in the front court. Although Gasol will be the center and Odom the PF initially, Gasol will move to PF as soon as Bynum is available for the Center position. The Lakers may be tempted to back up Bynum with Gasol, a role that Gasol has played in the past–or they may use Turiaff and/or Mihm.

Odom may be shifted from the PF to the SF, but he has not been successful there in the past–and Trevor Ariza will need to be worked into that position as well–on top of Walton and VladRad. Turiaff may back up the SF.

Odom may end up switching between multiple positions and/or playing fewer minutes.

I don’t know what is going to happen and how the combinations and minutes will work out, but it will be interesting.