The lakers did not have a leader. Their coach was non-existant and their star player cared more about bitching about missed plays than trying to inspire his team to greatness. We played like a bunch of spoiled brats and it hurts because I think a lot of people remember “tragic johnson”, but they also remember, “we’re not not going back to LA”. We need more that interior defense, we need heart.

Comment by Andrew Watkins — June 17, 2008 @ 11:39 pm

By the way, since many of you found this site recently, know that we keep this place going all summer. We will talk about free agents and other moves the Lakers are considering, talk about the draft (and that vital #58 pick) and other off-season moves. Then in August we’ll be doing plenty of Olympics and USA Basketball.

Also know that even in the off-season there are no random discussions of fantasy trade proposals or the like. Meaning if you just randomly write “The Lakers should trade Odom for Artest” that will get deleted. The reason is simply that this site would get overrun with random trade speculation, and there are already plenty of Lakers sites where you can go do that if you wish.

In a few days we’ll break down the Lakers roster for next year, who is back and who they have to resign and how many roster spots are really available, etc. And of course we’ll talk about the draft in general as well. But that is a few days away.

Just wanted to put that out there. Carry on.

Comment by Kurt — June 17, 2008 @ 11:44 pm

1. I love how Phil Jackson is suddenly an idiot because he lost a Finals. They guy has nine rings, he’s forgotten more basketball than most of us will ever know. It was not his best series but this wild over reaction stuff is exactly why this post is up. I could say the same things about Kobe — everyone says “he’s brilliant for chewing out his teammates and motivating them” when the Lakers win and an idiot for doing the same thing when they lose. Vent away if you must, I guess.

Comment by Kurt — June 17, 2008 @ 11:50 pm

Last night was the first time I ever went to bed before a Lakers game was over. Sure when I woke up, the result was just as I expected. I’m just as drained as any other Laker fan.

Comment by Hillary Ocholla — June 17, 2008 @ 11:58 pm

While there certainly are reasons to be optimistic about the Lakers’ future, I don’t think that we should rush to conclude another Finals appearance is a likelihood as a coping mechanism for tonight’s catastrophic loss. Indeed, as SI writer Jack McCallum observed, tonight’s complete dismantling reveals some real concerns on a going forward basis:

“The Lakers played hard for one quarter, but right after Eddie House and James Posey hit back-to-back three-pointers midway through the second period, the latter giving the Celtics a 14-point lead, it was all over. The fight was gone. Which suggests a certain collective lack of intestinal fortitude to the team from the Left Coast on that big a stage.

Second, a glaring lack of physicality was evident in the Lakers, particularly from Pau Gasol. The tag of “soft” has trailed Gasol like a stray dog throughout his career, … But along came the grind-it-out Finals, and Gasol’s effectiveness was reduced. In Game 6, he struggled to get up seven shots.

Third, Lamar Odom remains, to dig up what Winston Churchill said of Russia, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” One game he’s great, next game he stinks. He had a terrific year and there’s no reason that he won’t have another one next year. But he has to get it done in the Finals, and he, too, often went AWOL in this one.”

You can read the rest at the link, but the bottom line is that while we can enjoy the stunning turn-around of the Lakers from near implosion to NBA Finals contender, the front office needs to do a realistic, serious analysis of the roster because a Finals return is no sure thing. That may require a major trade or just a minor tweak. But the bottom line is, it would be a mistake to blindly stand pat out of the erroneous belief that Bynum’s return is going to solve some deep-rooted problems that did not preclude a deep playoff run, but did end up costing us the championship this year.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jack_mccallum/06/18/lakers/index.html?eref=T1

Comment by Scot — June 18, 2008 @ 12:02 am

I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but how do we ‘know’ we have andrew bynum in any good shape next year? The nba is littered with the wrecked bodies of should haves and would haves. The whole bynum saga seems very fishy to me, and I don’t have any confidence at the moment he will be back in good shape next year.

On the positive side, I still don’t think we need bynum to win a championship, this team will be one year older and more confident next year. Its unfortunate that we dropped so close to the finish line but as Kurt said before any of the greats became great winners, they were celebrated losers. Even magic who won in his rookie year went through it as we have mentioned…

Comment by JR — June 18, 2008 @ 12:05 am

3. I completely agree Kurt. This Lakers team is a good team at it’s core. It was extremely frustrating to see them lose in such a poor fashion but people forget that we are something like the third youngest team in the league. Experience matters. There was a great guest post on FB&G this season that looked at the make-up of past championship teams and almost all of them had strong veterans coming off the bench playing with energy and mental focus.

We lost this series because of rebounding and turnovers. Or in other words, energy and mental focus. We weren’t prepared for a tough series because we basically coasted through the last half of the season and the first three playoff series. That’s fixable.

Comment by Mike in the Mountain West — June 18, 2008 @ 12:13 am

i really do like our team as is, although vladi pushes it sometimes. will the lakers need veterans to win the championship next year, or will hard work, the return of andrew bynum, and this year’s experience be enough? is it possible that any championship-hungry veterans would even eye our team?

what’s going to happen about our crowded big-man situation? there’s bynum, gasol, mihm, mbenga, turiaf, odom, and technically, radmanovic.

also, i’ve always felt since this year’s trades that we are thinnest at the guard positions. would any sort of tweener who’s known for both an outside shot and inside bruising and cruising be able to fill in behind kobe, and perhaps split some time at the 3?

considering the arrival of thibodeau in boston this year, and their enormous spike in defensive efficiency and dominance, do we need to hire someone to really hammer out the lakers defense? if tom was able to turn it around, why shouldn’t we?

let me reiterate that i really love this team as it is for all its chemistry and talent. it has been beautiful watching this team this year, and i’m not jumping to trade speculation. i’m just welcoming some responses to some issues i feel are relevant, and entertaining some possibilities.

Comment by the other Stephen — June 18, 2008 @ 12:16 am

Writing from Oz (thats Australia~)
Firstly what an awesome season. as stated before to go from what the situation was at the beginning i thought it was going to be another doomed season where kobe jacks 50 shots every game. but things just started to fall in place and we ended up 2 games and 39pts away from a title. what a ride.
secondly just notes on the series. it was evident from game 1 that kobe defence wins championships. that has been the mantra for so many past champs and it was clear that lakers need alot of improvement in that area. Having said that, alot of credit needs to go to the celtics who didnt give kobe an inch of space to create, clogged up the lane and forced the lakers to become perimeter shooters. which will all know can be inconsistent at the best. is vlad on crack? some of the plays he made in this series made me wonder about his mental stability. pau tried hard, but dayum he needs to hit some weights. maybe with bynum back he can play the PF position, sliding bynum in centre and odom at SF. Odom was again inconsistent.
positive - the effort was evident but we lost to a better team. point blank. period.
cant wait till next season and also to watch Kobe play for team USA. should be fun to watch.

peace

Comment by dru_jt — June 18, 2008 @ 12:21 am

Please don’t delete this post. I’m just ASKING. I’ve heard two names in conjunction with the Lakers this offseason, one that seems realistic, one that seems crazy, but tantalizing. Those of you out there in the know, or with a firmer grasp of the roster realities, let me know about the following two names:
1. James Posey
2. Agent Zero

Regardless of this loss, the Lakers are not that far from being an NBA Champion. that is the only thing that is going to keep me warm until next season, when, let’s be honest, only two regular season games matter, in the way that it was in the 80’s.

Comment by R.J. Abeytia — June 18, 2008 @ 12:30 am

Tough loss. I stopped watching halfway through the second quarter til about the fourth, and by then it was over. As much as I hate the Celtics, I’m happy for Doc, KG, Pierce and Ray Allen. They are all good dudes that worked hard for this and deserved it. Also as much as I hate the Celtics, after seeing my first Lakers-Celtics final firsthand, I wouldn’t rather have it any other way.

I always figured that this year would be where we’d go through the trials and tribulations of learning what it takes to be a champion, so I’m not all that surprised that the Lakers lost to a Celtics team that wanted it a lot more. I know we have a team with the best player in the world, the best coach in the NBA, and a lot of young and talented players. The most disappointing thing has been the way the team handled themselves this series. After beating two very tough teams like Utah and San Antonio playing Lakers basketball, they didn’t even show up vs the Celtics. The loss would’ve been a lot easier to take if the Lakers competed til the end, but it just doesn’t seem like they did.

Not getting into trade speculation here at all, but the one thing I got from this loss and Phil mentioned in his press conference as well was that they’re going to need players who are going to be more aggressive and have a tougher mentality if they want to get back to the Finals. Hopefully a lot of that will come from internal growth, and I honestly believe guys like Sasha, Farmar, Pau, etc are gonna grow from this series and become tougher mentally. Some of the other players I’m not so sure about, and it wouldn’t hurt for the Lakers to pick up another veteran or two to help Kobe and Fish teach the young dudes how to win, execute when it matters, play defense, keep their poise, and things like that. But I’m not going to speculate because theres really no point to that - Mitch will figure out what to do, and I think he’s earned all Laker fans’ trust this year.

Either way, what a great and very entertaining season and I can’t wait for the next one. Despite the loss, I’m still really proud to be a Laker fan.

Comment by Lakersfan88 — June 18, 2008 @ 12:56 am

This hurts..we can sell our souls to the devil to get back here next here if thats what takes. sign anyone, trade anyone, just don’t let us flounder with that as our last memory of the lakers…bynum will bring change to the team, but we also need someone who can shoot and defend in the 3 spot, so thats a no go on vlad rad or lamar…

we need some players with heart and desire to match kobes’s intensity and desire to win a championship I’m not trying to sound like someone jumping ship, but some change must be made to this roster…we need guys that will show heart, thats all i ask of next year

Comment by Ollie — June 18, 2008 @ 1:02 am

Hi Kurt,

What are we doing writing about NBA basketball games when June is almost over? If this was ice hockey, there would already be big puddles in the pond. Must be the NBA championship–and I only saw two of the 6 games on TV. I didn’t see the Tuesday or Thursday games–just the ones on Sundays. I guess I was lucky to miss game 6.

The NBA championship was uncharted territory for me with this team anyway–a Laker team that we might expect to win next year. This caterpillar has not fully transformed into a butterfly yet.

Andrew and Trevor will be there at the very beginning of training camp. Many players on this year’s roster will have new assignments next year. Phil, in his last post game interview of the year, mentioned a need to find players that could rebound-especially on the offensive boards. “Tweaking” may be more extensive than previously thought.

I’ve already got some new ideas.

She’ll sleep through the night soon–and then you will sleep too.

Becoming a father again and losing to the Celts all in one week may take a bit of time to recover from!!!

Comment by drrayeye — June 18, 2008 @ 1:11 am

In the words of Alfred Pennyworth: “Why do we fall, sir?….So that we might learn to pick ourselves up.”

They will bounce back with a vengeance.

Comment by Hansoulfood — June 18, 2008 @ 1:11 am

Well, if you can’t win I suppose it’s something to bring a little joy into someone else’s life. You know what I hate about the Celtics? That shamrock on the back of the uniform. I have no idea why I feel this way.

Comment by Robert FIore — June 18, 2008 @ 1:20 am

1–I told myself I was just going to sit back and enjoy the fact that the Lakers are in the FInals regardless of the scoreboard or the zebras. I kept envisioning some mad-cap soccer fans chanting ‘ole, ole-ole, ole… ole’ and banging on drums outside, inside and back outiside the stadium without their team’s performance putting a damper on the party. But this was tough to swallow.

2–Did anyone else feel the Lakers just should floor the next Keltic doing a finger roll in the lane? The tv crew didn’t mention anything about sprotsmanship or ’showing up the opposition’ but I got tired of the Lakers letting the Keltics dunk on them then helping them up after the and-one. I told my brother if I were in there I’d just knock a Keltic on his ass even if I got thrown out. “They should’ve been doing that all series. It’s too late now.” Am I evil for feeling that way? Should I be happy the Lakers don’t have any ‘dirty’ players or hotheads?

Comment by cahuitero — June 18, 2008 @ 1:22 am

oh man. kobe’s postgame presser was dead, dead serious. the game was terrible. i think i spent most of it today shooting tennis balls into a wastebasket with friends.

Comment by the other Stephen — June 18, 2008 @ 1:23 am

I was reading the link under ‘Categories - Site News’ and the posts were very interesting. They explain why I am here and what I get out of these Blog sites. Very good writing Kurt, I am looking forward to draft and team USA posts from you.

Comment by lakerfan101 — June 18, 2008 @ 1:42 am

i noticed that although most opinions are that the lakers are going to be better next year with the addition of bynum, NOBODY has thought of how they’re going to get better by subtraction.

dumping kwame, cook and smush was huge in itself, nevermind actually getting gasol, ariza and fisher to play their minutes. with bynum out there, shifting gasol and odom (or equal caliber player via trade) down the line, the lakers get better in defense, rebounds AND post presence. why’s that? because we won’t be wasting minutes on radman the daydreamer and walton. i love walton’s court game has but he’s not a $5 mill per player, and certainly not a starter on a championship contender. boston attacked our weakest link (SF) with reckless abandon and the luxury of having odom playing at SF with ariza/walton as backups (def/off subs), i personally think that takes us to the next level. unfortunately we still have to keep radman around with his disgusting contract so we’re limited in how we can beef up the bench, but i think that’s a pretty good start.

Comment by big tuna — June 18, 2008 @ 1:48 am

Good point tuna.

I think the best thing we can do to the roster is leave it alone. Bring Pau in for a full training camp, let him develop even further in the triangle. We can worry about wholesale changes in a year, when Lamar’s contract expires.

Kurt, I find that feast-or-famine approach to sports commentary both fascinating and frustrating. Funny how the end result retroactively changes our perception of past events — if the Lakers had gotten one defensive stop in Game 2 they suddenly would have the Greatest Comeback of All Time.

I think we far exceeded expectations, and are in great shape for next year. Sure Kobe will steam for the summer, but steaming about losing the Finals is quite a different animal from steaming about going out in the first round.

Comment by Chris248 — June 18, 2008 @ 2:17 am

gasol reminded me of kwame yesterday. he looked lost, showed no heart, couldnt catch a ball, and it took him forever to make a dicision once he finally had the ball. i thought he was the go-to guy in memphis. wouldnt every go-to guy jump for joy seeing leon powe or big baby davis guarding him?

it was sad seing the lakers going down like that, but im still one of those people who think we shouldnt change up the roster. we have a good core of young guys, and they will continue to get better. ariza might fill the needs that we have at the 2 and 3 spot (athleticism and defense) after a full training camp with the team.

i thought luke played a great first round, and then lost minutes to vlade. i dont know why phil lost faith in him, but he showed us that he could provide good help given the right amount of playing time.

i guess its just hard to win a ring when nobody is scared driving to the rim against your starting center. bynum will help a lot.

lets keep the team as it is… maybe add a few veterans (im pretty sure that there will be plenty of players that would like a chance at a ring in LA). dont trade lamar, i think he is really special.

it was a good year! next year will be even better!

Comment by lesha — June 18, 2008 @ 2:25 am

I guess I should feel worse about this loss. I honestly don’t feel like the die hard fan I’ve become; last year I wouldn’t have touched a sporting site for days after something like this. Yet, I feel thankful that the Lakers even made it this far this year. This team hasn’t even played a whole season together and they’ve only had Gasol in the lineup for 20 something games.

And I know that the media members are saying that Bynum won’t do much for us. I don’t believe them. They’re going to be riding high on the Celtics for awhile and that’s fine, but remember that Bynum adds a lot for a few reasons. I think they are: 1) rebounding at center (obviously), 2) defense against penetration (ha) and shot blocking, and 3) ability to finish strong at the basket. So, I don’t think he needs to add a lot to make this team championship material.

Anyway, sorry for the long post but I have a good feeling about this team. I’ll be sticking around for the summer and hope you guys do too! Btw, you might see me as USC Mike as I’ll be starting grad school there this fall.

Comment by UCR Mike — June 18, 2008 @ 3:31 am

This is a punch in the gut. I don’t want to see Radmanovic back next season. I want to see Gasol put on 15 pounds and work on his cardio. I want to see Odom with balls, I want to see Kobe to be Kobe, I want to see the Machine to be really a Machine beyond the arc and I want to see Bynum back healthy. I think had Ariza’s foot not break, it could have swung the series around… We probably could have came back and won game 2 and we probably could have beaten the C’s in game 4 and we’d be Champs by game 5.

It was much more close than what Game 6 showed. I think last night was exactly like Rocco Mediate on the 91st hole against Tiger Woods on Monday. We just collasped. We had opportunies but our legs just gave out under us.

What I can’t stand is the media bashing on Kobe… I hate Bill Simmons, I hate Curt Schilling, I hate the Boston media and ESPN for railing against Kobe. Kobe’s just 29 years old and he is still learning. I hope we win at least 2 Championships in the next 5 years.

Comment by Brett Crouch — June 18, 2008 @ 4:15 am

I don’t think Phil Jackson is an idiot, but he was exposed as a below-average defensive coach in this series.

The Lakers’ deficit on the defensive end was more than a personnel shortcoming (though we’ve often heard that Phil’s influence in these matters tends to favor slower, less athletic triangle players over quick athletic defenders). But we were way too slow to adjust to their pick-and-roll, didn’t offer the full court pressure (wth Ariza and Farmar) that produced great results for Cleveland and Detroit, etc.

On the other hand, aside from Posey, Perkins, and Garnett, each of the Celtics regulars (especially Pierce and Allen) seemed to play well above their defensive reputation all season long, and especially in the playoffs.

This is basically a repeat of what happened to us in 2004. Phil couldn’t make adjustments on the fly to the defensive schemes, players got frustrated and thrown out of their rythyms, and collapse ensued.

Again, I think this is a coaching issue more than a personnel or “heart” issue. This grisly morning after, I might feel a lot better about our future if I know we had a powrhouse defensive-minded assistant like Thibodeau.

Comment by Maniacbug — June 18, 2008 @ 4:39 am

My money is on Ric Bucher being the first, and I predict it will happen sometime this morning.

Thanks for putting it all in perspective. We all knew that, if the Lakers lost, it would be tinged with hope for next season, so my plan, in one year, is to be here celebrating with you all.

Comment by laughing hard — June 18, 2008 @ 5:52 am

Just a thank you to you fans on this site for being class acts all the way. Great year for you and I know you guys will be back next year.

Let’s run it back!

Comment by Jeff (CelticsBlog) — June 18, 2008 @ 5:57 am

Disappointing loss. Actually turned the game off with about 3 minutes left in the first half. Hopefully the Lakers take this as a learning experience and work hard this off season and come back next year knowing what it takes to win. Bynum needs to work really hard to get back into shape, Odom and Ariza need to work on shooting. I’m not too worried about Farmar he is a hard worker and I know he will work really hard to get better. The only thing that worries me is that Kobe might be really tired at the beginning of the season. He is not going to get any time off (Olympics) then he will have to have surgery on his hand. But this might be a blessing in disguise because it might make the Lakers have to learn to play with a limited Kobe for a few weeks.

I think this team is a title contender the way it is built. They just need to work on defense. Maybe hire a defensive minded coach that can implement a system and get the players to buy into it (Maybe we can steal Thibadough from Boston, or someone from SA). As far as roster tweaks I don’t think we need anything major, the only weaknesses I see is depth at the 1 (because of an aging Fisher) and defensive 3 that can also score, and maybe one more player on the perimeter that can create for themselves.

Comment by ryan — June 18, 2008 @ 6:12 am

Celtics fan here.

First, I wanted to thank Kurt for the wonderful site and the Lakers fans that post here — many of you are class acts, and it truly is a pleasant surprise to find. Gracious is the right word for it, I think.

Second, I hope that Bynum does indeed stay healthy for next year. Watching this series, I got the impression that there was a hole in the Lakers lineup that needed to be filled by a quality big man. I hope you get him, even if it’s someone other than Bynum. Really, I think that was all the Lakers lacked — someone who would fight in the paint.

See you guys next year, and take care of yourselves!

Comment by Chad Johnson — June 18, 2008 @ 6:19 am

It was a terrible game #6 but a great season overall. I get so tired of Kobe being maligned by the media-”He’s not MJ blah,blah blah. Kobe has never ever compared himself to MJ. It’s pathetic how its near impossible to hear “Hey they had a very good season and are up and coming and have Bynum next year”- and instead hear all the bashing (as though the Lakers made themselves the favorites to win it all!), Naw, this was a year I won’t soon forget and I am excited to be a Lakers fan. 29 times in the finals- I’m damn privledged to be a Lakers fan. I’ve followed em for 44 years and I’ve seen ups and downs like you wouldn’t believe- the Wilt,West and Baylor “guarantee ” of a championship- now that!! was deflating. A young upcoming team like this getting blown out- tough but nothing compared to whats gone down before. We will be okay!

Comment by MarkR — June 18, 2008 @ 6:25 am

As I was watching the game last night and saw the deficit balloon up to 20 points - I knew it was impossible to catch up in an atmosphere like Boston. I felt the Lakers had 2 possibilities:

1.) put a nice run together and show that they belonged on the court.

2.) take the worst loss imaginable - and leave a lasting impression of this loss into next year.

Out of pride - option 1 seemed to be the best way to go out. With honor. After a restless night of reflection, option 2 may be the way to go. This is a young Laker team that got its swagger a little too quickly. And lets be honest - after that unexpected run through the western conference, the Lakers got cocky.

I think Jeff Van Gundy made a very keen observation. To paraphrase - he stated that even though Boston had a far superior team defense, the Lakers had far superior individual defenders. The Lakers are quicker, longer, and more athletic than the Celtics.

I think this observation is very key. If this works out correctly, I really hope the Lakers can take this experience and really harness themselves for an unforgettable run next year. We know the Lakers will be ridiculously talented in the upcoming season….

But they may have just gotten that killer instinct for next year with this loss from the celtics….

Comment by Kevin — June 18, 2008 @ 6:30 am

I still dont see how we should have lost this series. Its one thing to lose to a clearly better team, but I just didnt get the feeling that was the case this time.

As to the future, Kobe now enters his final year before he can opt out. Any insight on what is being done to get him signed to a long term deal. No matter how good we are next year and how foolish it would be to let Kobe go, I just dont think you can have the opt out issue hanging over the teams head as every bad stretch only fuels the rumor mill and distracts from the team.

Without Bynum, getting to the finals was really a good year, especially where it began. Lets get Kobe locked up and then tweak the roster as needed.

Comment by George Best — June 18, 2008 @ 6:38 am

I respect Kurt’s optimism and consistency. Yes, teams have bounced back from games like this. The 1990 Bulls come to mind–getting blown out by the Pistons in Game 7 of the ECF in the “Pippen Migraine” game and then winning three straight rings. Yes, it is important to remember what a great year it was. And yes, the Celtics were better. Power to them.

But as I said yesterday, I think it is important to see both sides. The Lakers are blessed to have Kobe Bryant, but I see little reason, comparing him to LeBron James in particular, to call him “the best and most passionate player in the game” today. The Lakers, in building around him, need to see his many limitations. Phil Jackson, as great as he has been, needs to look in the mirror as well. He failed to get the team to play better D and to play more phyiscally, even within its athletic limitations, and he needs to be held accountable for that. There is no guarantee, even as young as some of them are, that the Lakers will get another chance with this group. This loss may be a prelude, but we simply do not know that that is the case.

Moving into the off-season, I hope that we can start by talking a bit about the current roster in terms of contracts–who is owed what and for how long, who is unrestricted, restricted, etc.

One bit of idle speculation (not trade-related): I think we can all imagine how one Earvin Johnson is feeling today. Those of us who remember the 1980s teams know that Magic, Riley and others brought an urgency and toughness to them–Game 2 of the1985 Finals was IMO the greatest moment for that team.

So, I wonder if he can talk more to Kobe Bryant and some of the other guys, and maybe work with Phil Jackson a bit, and bring some of that to this team.

Comment by robinred — June 18, 2008 @ 6:38 am

This is the part where every Laker and Laker fans alike feel soreness in every part of the body. You somehow feel hung over from a long night of nightmares - every part of you wishing that you could’ve played that 2nd quarter differently. Every aspect of that forgettable game was so hard to digest it still gives me muscle cramps until now.

I tip my Purple and Gold hat to Boston. The men showed the kids what it took to win it all. Never mind the howling and sobbing from KG, I think that guy deserved it. No one plays with puke-passion like he does. RayRay was inexistent from the start of the playoffs and came out when it was needed - and came out he did. Lastly, as much as I hate the guy, Paul Pierce did a magnificent job exploiting our weakness. He showed the world he too had what it took to carry a team to glory after all the years of dwelling in the cellars of the league. So Congrats to the whole Boston crew, I still don’t like you one bit, but I respect what you have done.

Is it time to get serious just yet? It seemed so long ago that we had early-May vacations. Now we are deep into June and we are still digesting what had just happened. Well I guess the thirst for perfection never stops. And as bitter as the tastes of our mouths are at this point, its never too early to start going back to the drawing board.

(to follow in case it might get too speculative)…

Comment by Warren Wee Lim — June 18, 2008 @ 6:39 am

The thing that I’m pissed off about the most was the way the lakers just bent over and accepted their fate in the second half. They had a chance to come out of the locker room with a commitment to defense and not making the rout more embarrassing than it had to be.

Instead they just gave up and let ray allen hit wide open 3s and random scrubs throw down alley-oops and fastbreak dunks.

Like Kevin (14) said, they had two choices - and they picked the wrong one. That’s what hurts the most.

Comment by wiseolgoat — June 18, 2008 @ 6:40 am

but i will say this - like Kurt, i believe life is all about the journey, not the destination. This year was the most fun i’ve ever had as a lakers fan and as an NBA fan. Whether it was through repeated readings of the blogosphere, watching every lakers game on my friend’s NBA League Pass account, or following this excellent site - i just had a great time being a fan this year and i’m sad that it’s over.

mostly, i’m sad that all i have to watch is baseball until august. go team usa!

Comment by wiseolgoat — June 18, 2008 @ 6:43 am

I hope the team had to watch every second of the Celtics celebrating. Let that get ingrained in their heads all summer. They need fire.

Arenas: hell no. Terrible fit for the team (he’ll resign with Washington). Posey…. would be an upgrade, but i doubt we go after him. 2 time champs come at a cost, and we’re way over the cap with our own big 3.

Comment by Bryan — June 18, 2008 @ 6:58 am

MKDB: (Mitch Kuchak’s Drawing Board)

1. Draft - well its not #1 in priority but it comes next in chronology to all the soreness from Game 6. I personally don’t think there’s anyone too “bright” from this spot, it could just be another Euro or Asian stashed elsewhere. It could be traded or sold or it could just be another Leon Powe waiting to happen. My money is on stash-out.

2. Free Agency - Ronny and Sasha are the 2 names that stand out. Every player hits free agency twice or thrice only in their lifetimes - so usually, while they are still young and able and full of life, they usually hunt the best contract out there. Sasha could get ringed by some team that won the championship several times this decade, Ronny could get a call from an Eastern team with no real PF and has the most cap-space.

3. Free Agency #2 - this is the part where the cash-strapped Lakers ponder on spending the MLE. FA#1 matters in how this is decided but ultimately, Mitch will be thrift this year unless some really good deal comes our way. If Kurt is ready to open a thread for this, you’ll see my point.

4. Trade Front - this is my favorite part and conversely Kurt’s least. As it does indeed flood this site from guys like me from the old days, its best to keep the options clear and open. I have no one for now. I think its better to spend the MLE to improve at this point. But that costs double too.

5. LLE/Bi-annual - this is still free agency but its limited to the Sam Cassells and PJ Browns and other older guys of this league.

Comment by Warren Wee Lim — June 18, 2008 @ 7:00 am

Defenitley congrats to the Celtics. They were the better team. That defense is just suffocating.

Anyone feel that Kobe didnt have his legs when he was playing the last few games? Sure a majority of that could be the defense. I just hope everything is ok for next season. I am looking forward to next season.

Comment by Reuben — June 18, 2008 @ 7:03 am

Clearly the Celtics roster is stronger than the Lakers roster. The Celtics had home court advantage. And still the Lakers came very close to winning the first three games that the Celtics won. And people are blaming the coach?

Comment by exhelodrvr — June 18, 2008 @ 7:13 am

Thanks to Kurt and the other writers for making this an exceptional site!

Comment by exhelodrvr — June 18, 2008 @ 7:16 am

“They overran us,” Jackson said of the Celtics. “[Kevin] Garnett knocked Pau down in the lane and scored an easy basket in the first four or five possessions and set kind of a tone that they were going to establish an aggressive form, and we never met that energy all night. So we have to get some players if we’re going to come back and repeat, to have that kind of aggressiveness that we need.”

Comment by muddywood — June 18, 2008 @ 7:43 am

it hurts. like hell.

for this team, we need change we can believe in–because frankly, all this talk about ‘inexperience’ is getting old. and next year, it’s going to be just bs, with or without bynum.

Comment by frustratedlakerfan — June 18, 2008 @ 7:46 am

I am at a loss. If you look at the season as a whole, we weren’t supposed to be this good this fast and I think that we can only improve. I hope that this beat down will be burned in their minds because we have too much talent not to get back to the biggest of stages.

Thanks Kurt, et. al. for a wonderful site. I will most certinaly be on this site for as long as you have it.

Comment by Don W. — June 18, 2008 @ 7:51 am

Anyone read J.A. Adande´s piece on the lakers? http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=Lakers-080618

I don´t really know what to think. On the one hand I do realize that the team will be better on defense next year, but I still think the Lakers need players to match Boston´s and Kobe´s intensity. It just seemed like the Celtics wanted it more than the Lakers, except for Kobe, who was doing all he could. It´s no wonder he looked exhausted in the 3rd and 4th quarters of Game 6.

But I still the Lakers will make a great run next season, and I actually think they´ll make a better run the season after next, because by then Bynum and Farmar will both be more experienced.

Comment by RB — June 18, 2008 @ 8:08 am

R.J. Abeytia,

I hope this doesn’t get deleted, but just responding to your question. Agent Zero rumors to “LA” was for the Clippers, and not the Lakers. Sorry if you got your hopes up. LA has no cap room to sign him since they’re over the salary cap, and he’ll want a near max deal. The Lakers can’t even if they wanted to for other reasons as well. 1st is that they need to resign Sasha and Turiaf and will have to ink Bynum next year or renegotiate this year, so that’s probably going to add at least another 15 million, and Buss is reluctant to go too far over the luxury tax. As for Posey, the rumors are out there that the Lakers may pursue him, but I think the Celtics will do whatever they can to hold on to him, both because he played well this year, and also to prevent him from going to another contender like the Lakers.

I do think that I agree with Phil Jackson that they need to add someone or make some changes for next year. Although their defense should improve with Bynum, the Celtics revealed an serious flaw in the Lakers. It’s that they truly only have one guy who can create his own shot. The Lakers of the 1980s had at least 3 guys who could create his own shot, Magic, Worthy, and Kareem. The Kobe/Shaq Lakers had 2. The Bulls Dynasty had 2 with Jordan and Pippen. The 2008 Celtics have 3, although Allen is more of a catch and shoot guy, he was able to take create his own shot multiple times during the series, especially with the time running down on the clock.

Unless someone like Farmar becomes the next Tony Parker, they do need to add someone else who can carry the team when Kobe is on the bench or double or triple teamed. So we’ll see what happens this summer!

Comment by sclakerfan — June 18, 2008 @ 8:09 am

all this talk of drastic change is complete nonsense. We had pau for a half season. this group needs to grow together. continuity is the key in building championship. with kobe and pau as the center pieces, we can win with lamar, bynum, and a few more defensive minded players. what we need is patience and better support from the fans, not more trades and free agent signings. with that said, vlad and luke need to shape up or be shipped out…

Comment by pb — June 18, 2008 @ 8:09 am

this team has alot of probles beneath the surface, kobe blaming his teammates openly on the court is a BIG ONE, i just hope he picks up some things while playing on the olympic team

god this loss hurts

Comment by sigh — June 18, 2008 @ 8:21 am

The lack of heart in last night’s loss was disgusting to watch. In particular, one play when Ray Allen had a wide open three and had just about 5 seconds to set his feet, gather himself, and bomb away - and the entire Laker defense just stopped to watch. Not even give a little bit of the “fake hustle” Van Gundy was mentioning in Game 5. In particular, I thought Radman and Vujacic had horrible games. Vujacic, by my count, was directly responsible for two 8 point swings and one 6 point swing.

As much as Vujacic has improved this year, I felt that after Game 3, he started shooting just because he was open (and sometimes when he wasn’t). And Van Gundy’s comment about “fake hustle” was so on the money - we would try to draw charges out at half court, but when the Celtics players were driving through the lane we’d go for the strip or the block.

Next year we need a renewed commitment to defense and rebounding - our offense is at its best when we have leakouts and fast break opportunities, and that’s impossible without solid defense and strong defensive rebounding. Here’s to hoping.

Comment by robz — June 18, 2008 @ 8:44 am

robz - you are so right. So many times we would just go down and jack up a shot. The “D” was anything but. We just needed a world class effort from everyone and we got it from no one.

Comment by Don W. — June 18, 2008 @ 8:50 am

well, we certainly can see who are the “glass half full” people and the “glass half empty” people.
I for one see this season as a glass half full season.
when it started, my hope was that we got out of the first round of the playoffs, experience the taste of the second round and also experience the pain of elimination after a tase of victory.
well, we did better than that. and no doubt the growth that will come from these playoffs will benefit this team in the LONG RUN.
I do not like seeing all these posts about our poor coaching, I respectfully disagree.
think about this, now that we had this hard loss in the finals, think about the fire in the belly this team will grow all summer, and come back next year with a vengence, we expect this right?
so, what do we need the most? someone to guide the team so that they don’t peak too soon, get burned out, but rather build on each game throughout the entire season, to end the season playing the best ball of the year, and people, isn’t that also what he did this year?
PJ isn’t a game to game coach, he is a season to season coach.
it’s the players who win and lose games, it’s the coach who pilots the cruse ship, something that takes 2 miles to turn, start or stop, long term guidance.
hasn’t he shown this year after year? I for one believe in this coaching staff, and feel lucky to have them.

I know you’ll probably do this Kurt, but I thought it might be fun for us all to discuss what the “exit strategy” PJ will say to each player, you know, like for -

Pau- “Bulk up, hit the weights, cause you know you are going to see KG again next year.
Andrew - same thing, for the same reasons, develop a sky hook, strengthen the legs to support the knee.
Trevor - study tapes of Artest, Bowen, and Michael Cooper, cause we want you to become a defensive specialist, who can hit treys and do the alley oop.
and so on…

I am now going to go enjoy my half full glass of OJ.
cheers folks, it’s been a great season to watch and enjoy, and share with you all as well.

Comment by chris h — June 18, 2008 @ 8:54 am

Obviously tough game. Being there was more then I ever expected out of this team so I’m not as upset as some. I’ve read a lot about Odom having an off game last night but I didn’t see it that way. The first half was rough for everyone not named Kobe in the first 8 mins, but come the 2nd half I thought Odom showed a lot of heart/care for this team and franchise. Driving to the basket, taking (what little) offensive load on his back and going at Garnett/anyone in his way. I liked that he got up in the Celtic’s face and showed some passion. I learned a lot about him last night, definitely not his best game, but he showed leadership.

Going into next year I think Odom comes back with a fire we haven’t yet seen. I saw flashes of it last night and if he brings that every game next year we might see the NBA’s newest most improved player wearing the purple and gold.

Great season, tough way to end it but think of all the positives from this year. We’ll be back in the hunt next year and with the proper dedication from our young core we can/will improve a ton.

Comment by T34 — June 18, 2008 @ 9:11 am

I don’t know how I can put this into words because I am in no means a grammatical person. I’m sick of hearing and reading the stories about how Kobe’s career is somewhat tarnished now. For instance, there are numerous times that I’ve read that his career is incomplete, like he’s going to retire tomorrow. That’s the impression I keep getting from the writers, and the talking heads. I just can’t see what the point is. He’s 29 years old. He’s got a minimum of 5 more seasons of basketball. Who knows what’s going to be accomplished, or what he’s going to accomplish. I guess this is the way it is nowadays, but for me, I don’t like it. Wait until he’s done before the comparions begin.

An additional thought, the bench for the Lakers, a strength all year, was not a strength in the Finals. I’m sure having Ariza healthy, and Vlad parked on the bench (or moved) definetly strengthens this, but I think the main problem is still there, the softness of the team in general. I don’t know if they need to start taking pages from Tom Izzo, but whatever mind set they’ve had, needs to be changed. Maybe the embarrassment of this final game fixes that, probably not.

I’d really like to see Radmanovic become someone elses problem.

Also, is there a way that the Lakers could get Chandler and Paul w/o giving up too much?

Comment by Zach — June 18, 2008 @ 9:20 am

cahuitero - i was thinking the exact same thing. farmar should have hit rondo harder.

Comment by wiseolgoat — June 18, 2008 @ 9:20 am

all great teams need to go through adversity together because that’s how they learn to be champions.

nobody thought we’d be playing in the finals yet. with bynum healthy, every single unguarded layup the celtics had this series would end up in the fourth row.

we know that. the league knows that.

enjoy your parade, boston.

next year, your ass is ours

Comment by gasolgasol — June 18, 2008 @ 9:31 am

As good as the Celtics were and as poorly as the Lakers played this entire series…due to their lack of toughness and horendous defense, they took it to game 6. With more mature players next year…a even more hungry Kobe…and a returning Bynum, I think the Lakers have a good shot. But they need to want it, just as much as the Celtics did. I feel that the Lakers played as if they were happy to be in the finals…proud of what they accomplished..(besides Kobe). Though the Lakers now know how good they are as a team, and they need to believe in themselves next year and play with passion and a desire to win it all. As for the bad team defense..the Lakers should have better defense with Bynum in the middle. Maybe if they can acquire a tough defensive guy like Artest it would help to.lllthe defense needs to improve and I think this should be the main focus…we know the team can score, but please improve the defense.

Comment by Joe — June 18, 2008 @ 9:31 am

Last night’s loss was embarassing and very tough to take. However, I don’t think it’s all gloom and doom in Laker land. We took this series to 6 games, no matter how you look at it. Boston played their hearts out, as best as they possibly can, and it still took them 6 games to beat us (and 5 really close ones that could have gone either way). We did not play up to our potential in this series. I believe that we got too caught up with offense. We should have focused on how to answer Boston’s challenge and shut them down on the other end too. That would have lead to easy transition offense. That was the key in this series, we let it become our offense vs their defense. As good of an offensive team as we are, Boston is that much better on defense.

I am very optimistic for next year. I believe that our offense will get better with a full training camp, I am not worried about that at all. Where the growth will come is on defense. And Bynum will make a huge difference. We were a much better team on defense with Bynum playing center as opposed to Gasol. If he comes back and plays the way he was playing before his injury (the big question, but I hope and i think he will), then it makes all the difference. As Garnett proved, the foundation of a great defense is an anchor in the middle that will protect the paint . Gasol is just not a defensive anchor, and we payed for it in the finals. He is however a decent man defender and he can help us on that end by making things difficut for the PF’s in this league by using his length.

Odom is very long and athletic and with the right motivation, i believe he can defense. We also have good to decent perimeter defenders in Ariza, Kobe, Sasha and Fisher. Kobe needs to come back and refocus his energy on defense like he did with team USA. Ariza will get to play much more next yr, which is a good thing because he’s a hell of a naturally gifted defender.

Jeff Van Gundy said last night that he believes that the Lakers have players with better individual defensive talent than the Celtics, and I agree with him. Garnett and Rondo are the only superiorly gifted defensive players in their entire roster. Yet they play amazing team defense simply because they all promised each other that they will give their absolute best on that end.

As much as i hate to give an Celtic related thing credit, they are truly inspiring to watch. There is no reason why our team cannot make the same commitment. Starting in training camp, we need to bring in some new players to add toughness and defensive will (Mcdyess? Posey? ) , identify the players in our current roster that are willing to sacrifice their bodies for the team , and start practicing some god damn defense. No reason we can’t do it. We have the talent, we just need the desire. And i’m pretty sure a 40 point rubbing in the biggest stage will provide that desire.

Comment by Brouk — June 18, 2008 @ 9:37 am

I was telling friends and family back in December, I think the Lakers are a season away. I still think that.

It would have hurt more if I really thought the Lakers were a better team than Boston, but that clearly wasn’t the case this year. There is a lot of room to grow, great pieces are in place, and the team gained great experience to draw upon going into the future.

I can only hope the Lakers hold on to the feeling they had after the final game and uses that as motivation to work hard in the offseason - and more than that, I hope players, coaches, and front office will all take a realistic look at themselves and see where they fell short, and need to improve.

It was still a great season, and the team made a far bigger step forward than I would have dreamed. Let’s hope the Lakers come out on fire from the start of training camp, and take over the league wire to wire like their archrivals did this season.

Comment by jodial — June 18, 2008 @ 9:42 am

I don’t think that this was the main reason why the Lakers lost, but I did see the Celtics doing a lot of veteran moves that the Lakers weren’t doing. I read on ESPN or SI about how the Celtics do a good job of “fouling” without getting caught. Lots of veteran players have figured out how to jab at the ball or the other players without stretching out their arms and the refs have a hard time with these even though they should be called. The Lakers on the other hand, try to swipe for the ball when the ball is away from the body and even if it’s all ball, it seems like a foul so the refs call it. Pau got called for a couple of these and Fisher’s constantly getting called for this. Another move is to lean into the defender to draw the foul. The only Laker to consistently do this is Kobe. Fisher and Vlade try to jump away from contact. Pierce was leaning into the defender all the time as well as Allen and drawing the foul. I think the NBA needs to review this rule and if the offensive player moves his body away from the basket in an unnatural motion just to draw contact or prevents the defender from landing by leaning into him, it should not be called or it should be a foul on the shooter. Finally, the Celtics were always making timely fouls such as on breakaways whereas I didn’t see the Lakers take one intentional foul to prevent a basket.

Comment by sclakerfan — June 18, 2008 @ 9:44 am

As bad as last night was, the real blow was game 4. The series was decided right there. The Lakers can blame no one but themselves.

Still, I wish they had gone down fighting.

Comment by inwit — June 18, 2008 @ 9:47 am

I really dislike the morning after freak out session that has occurred regarding the Lakers future. There is no need to panic. This team made it to the finals, and they did it without one of their stars.

I do believe we are better off without a couple players on the team, but the core is solid. Kobe, Pao, Odom, Bynum, Fisher, Farmar, Turiaf, and Ariza are great pieces.

I’m excited for next year already.

Comment by hangover — June 18, 2008 @ 9:57 am

I think the fans and the team were on the same emotional level for these playoffs.

We knew we would be in there, but knowing how far we could/would go was a complete mystery. We were the underdogs all the way through the Western Conference Finals and we played like underdogs. Fighting and scrapping for everything and playing as inspired D as this unit is capable of playing.

The problem is we ran into a team that was even more inspired than we were. They had 3 veteran all-star players who wanted it more and played like it. We were simply not ready to rise to this level to challenge.

I truly and honestly believe that next season the guys that come back from this season will understand after taking some days and probably some evenings of hard liquor of what the Celtics did and what they didn’t.

On top of that, Ariza in spurts looked great out there. He provided energy, a great defensive presence (steals and altering shots) as well as a guy who can put the exclamation point on transition buckets or just open dives to the rim. I truly wondered how we would have faired if we had Ariza at full strength to guard Pierce instead of Walton and Vlad Rad.

Nothing against those guys, but they looked like they were wearing weights on their feet or something because Pierce would blow by them AT WILL without screens or really any ball fakes.

I don’t feel the need to touch on Bynum because obviously everyone here knows what he could be for us next year. We just had to take our lumps this year…though good lord…those were some hard lumps to take…

Comment by sleeper — June 18, 2008 @ 9:59 am

Guys, I love this team, for its history and its style. Even last night, when things were getting borderline taunting, our Lakers did not resort to the cheap fouls (although we did get a flagrant foul on one play). Honestly, if you watch how Garnett played during the last 5 mins it was pretty clear his intent was to rub salt in the wounds more than “be the consumate competitor” as some in the media now claim. Yet, our frustrated team kept their professional attitude and moved forward.

Not sure if many of you stuck around to watch the post game celebration, but when Kobe, Lamar and others went out of their way to congratulate Garnett, Pierce, and Allen they were mostly ignored by the players. The only exception was Doc Rivers who made eye contact and hugged each player and said at least a kind word. Pierce did a half hug to Kobe, with no eye contact, and walked away. Garnett did the same - and he’s suppossed to be Kobe’s friend. In my opinion, this was a greater insult to my dear Lakers than losing by such a wide margin.

Comment by MannyP — June 18, 2008 @ 10:07 am

Nice run for the Lakers, there’s no shame in losing to a better team, but it’s a shame they didn’t go down fighting. A couple of days away from the disaster we’ll all see there’s no need to panic.

Gasol is what he has always been. I think we overestimate the feasibility of personality and physique and skill transplants. The man, like Nowitzki, is a skilled player, but not a force of nature. It’s unfair to him to expect him to be anything than what he is. But get this: the Lakers _already_ have a Force of Nature in Bryant.

Comment by Jaz — June 18, 2008 @ 10:08 am

Not to say I told you so, but yesterday I did call for the Celtics in a blowout. A few of my posts were deleted, guess the Truth (yes pun is intended) hurts.

Hate to say it, but I don’t see the Lakers much better off than say the Hornets, the Jazz, or up and coming Portland.

One thing is for certain, its not just the Lakers who are soft, but the entire fraudulent Western Conference.

Good luck next year, you most certainly need it.

Comment by Realist — June 18, 2008 @ 10:11 am

Great summary, Kurt.

Congrats to the Celtics. They were the better team this series. We got out-muscled, and out-hustled.

This season was a fun ride with a disappointing finish. But, all in all, a great season. The Lakers have a bright future ahead of them.

Thank you, Kurt and all the other regular posters for being such a great complement to a great season.

Comment by PJ — June 18, 2008 @ 10:13 am

Just wanted to start of with a word of thanks to Kurt for running a great site and to the commenters for keeping this one of the most intelligent boards I’ve read. As everyone has stated before, this was a pleasant surprise from the start of the season. I remember thinking we could make the Finals the day that the Pau trade was made and it happened.

Just some quick thoughts:

I agree with one of the commenters above that said the Lakers got too cocky too quickly (paraphrasing).

Also agree with another commenter that stated that the “slide down” for our roster will do us wonders. Everyone keeps forgetting (especially the media) that Pau is not a true center. I thought he looked gassed because he was constantly having to deal with Perkins and Brown when he isn’t a true low post back to the basket and grab 10-12 rebounds a night type of player. With Bynum at center providing rebounding and shot-blocking, Pau will be able to return to where he is most comfortable. Same for Odom, I think he really shines when he is able to play SF and not have to worry about a big body defensively. Sure that puts a lot of pressure on the guards to shoot well from outside but we have enough shooters coming off the bench to make up for that.

The only roster move I think we should make is to pick up a veteran big man like PJ Brown for the Celtics this year. Someone that doesn’t want big minutes but can be a veteran presence and teach the younger guys.

Can’t wait until next year!

Comment by Troy — June 18, 2008 @ 10:13 am

59) You are right the East does play a tougher brand of basketball and the West has more finesse teams. Although, I wouldn’t call the Western conference fraudulent as their 9th best team was better than the 4th best team in the East. When Boston and Detroit can feast on these mediocre teams they are going to have a better record and therefore home-court advantage for the Finals. Just something to think about.

Comment by Troy — June 18, 2008 @ 10:26 am

I will come back and read all the posts…when I have time later this afternoon….but…

Congrats Boston. and I am most happy that PJ Brown got a ring…I have always liked that guy and…good for him.

Lakers go 98-0 next year!!!!

on being bummed….hey look…they werent even supposed to make it to the playoffs…I am proud of them….all of them.

on last thing…did any one notice the Game Clock was still running after the Celtics scored prior to Lakers inbound in first quater? I recall a few times….around the 10 minute mark and a few others…

Comment by burningjoe — June 18, 2008 @ 10:27 am

My comment was meant for Realist’s comment just in case the number changes again.

Comment by Troy — June 18, 2008 @ 10:27 am

This was a great season and the Lakers went much beyond any of us expected, but still a loss is a loss and is a little disappointing. Now to think for the future.

I hate that Phil’s every response to media questions is about the offense. I agree that we were taken out of our offense in this series but what exposed us really was our defense. We were not able to stop penetration, not able to close out on 3-pt shooters due to bad rotation, not able to defend the pick and roll even to the standards of an average NBA team, let alone a Finals team.

The biggest change that neds to happen is to get a defensive mindset during the offseason. Coach defense for a change. Get maybe one defensive minded player.

We need to have some variations to the offense too. Simple ones. Like getting our 3-pt shooters open using screens.

I really hope that Phil understands that these have to be addressed and not just personnel changes. Sometimes Phil is so stubborn you don’t know if he’s even going to even change any of his ideas. I neve saw Jordan’s bulls but I know they had a great defensive team. Would any of you know if they played the triangle offense the whole game long or had variations during parts of the game?

Coming to personnel:

I don’t think it’s a given that Bynum comes back and leads us to a championship. He’s only 20 and has had maybe 25 good games in the NBA. I agree he has shown lot of potential, but expecting him to contribute as a starter on a championship team at his age is a bit too much. And that’s if he comes back healthy. We don’t know what exactly is happening with his injury. He has taken much longer than expected to heal and there’s no guarantee that he comes back heathly next season.

IMO, Lamar does not have a place on this team as a starter anymore. It’s probably upto him to play from the bench or else get traded. We don’t know if Jerry Buss wants to pay 13m to a bench player. Why he cannot be a starter is because of two reasons:

- If Bynum comes back healthy then we need a SF, who can shoot 3s and play good perimeter defense. Lamar is neither.

- If Bynum does not get back healthy, I don’t think anybody wants to see a starting frontcourt of Lamar and Pau anymore. We ned somebody who can complement Pau with physicality, rebounding, shot-blocking.

I definitely have more thoughts on roster changes but I will wait till Kurt puts up his post on that. I just had to get my frustration about Lamar off my chest for now.

Comment by pw — June 18, 2008 @ 10:35 am

At least the Lakers still have something to celebrate…

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ILD-_kjJ8BM

Comment by anoni — June 18, 2008 @ 10:39 am

The Denver Nuggets won 50 games solely because they played in the West. Atlanta would have crushed the Nuggets and either Cleveland, or Detroit would have beat the Lakers just as Boston did.

Mark my words, the path to the Western Conference title goes through Portland this year.

Comment by Realist — June 18, 2008 @ 10:40 am

Well it ended a bit uglier than I would have hoped for, but I expected the Celtics to win. I think they had the “look”, the desire and veterans whose opportunities are fleeting. And I’d rather emphasize that they beat us rather than the Lakers suck, because this season proved we clearly don’t. Everyone in the media is harshing on the Lakers big time, but I think it’s only because the Lakers didn’t back up the medias lofty predictions.

I don’t think now is the time to go into what changes (if any) the Lakers need to make. The fact is they beat everyone but the Celtics; as many teams proved with asinine trades (suns going for Shaq to contend with the Spurs) you don’t remake your team to deal with one team. And as I said I think the Celtics are a team of the moment, not necessarily one built to compete for years.

So hold your trade of (fill in the Laker name) for a bit and let’s breath and be happy our team was as good as they were.

I am sure they will only get better (remember what 84 was to 85/87)

Comment by Bingo T. Klown — June 18, 2008 @ 10:41 am

i was wondering what paul pierce was saying yesterday, how the celtics fans stuck with them all along…he must have a really short memory, or a selective one rather

http://www.espn.go.com/photo/2006/1206/nba_g_celtics_395.jpg

Comment by purpleshoes — June 18, 2008 @ 10:43 am

Kurt: “I love how Phil Jackson is suddenly an idiot because he lost a Finals. They guy has nine rings, he’s forgotten more basketball than most of us will ever know.”

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Phil seems to have forgotten some of the good stuff along with all the forgettable stuff… I wouldn’t call him an idiot by any stretch of the imagination, but he seems to have lost a little somethin-somethin since his heydays in LA and Chicago (perhaps it’s the Pippens and Rodmans and Shaqs?)

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but how about the difference in volume at the Garden than at Staples Center? I hate to pile it on the day after, but the sheer passion and volume of the Boston crowd was tangibly, palpably more evident than what the Blackberry jet-set in LA mustered up. At least, that’s how it seemed on TV…

Comment by lurky — June 18, 2008 @ 10:46 am

There are so many new names on this blog since the last series. I home a number of you stay with us through the summer and next year.

This was a tough loss, but like MarkR, I have followed the Lakers for over 44 yrs and have seen this kind of thing before - even worse in the 60’s.

This was a very young team. When they finally met their match, they didn’t know what to do and - therefore - got clubbed to death. That this is a common occurrence has been mentioned. It is important what comes next. While there are changes that need to be made - in my opinion - there are also changes that have to come from within the players. We no longer have a young and inexperienced team. What the players do with this knowledge will determine their NBA futures. Fortunately, we have an organization that has also been through this, as recently as Kobe-Shaq.

October will tell us a lot about our current players and coaching staff, but we may not be able to surmise much before then. In October we will see how the players come back and approach the game. What did they work on over the summer, or did they work at all? Does Phil upgrade an emphasis on defense, or continue with the triangle offense solves all?

While we speculate until then, remember we are all growing older and hopefully wiser.

Comment by Craig W. — June 18, 2008 @ 10:47 am

The other thing I wanted to mention was how EVERY time a tough defense wins a championship, the old, tired sports cliche of “defense wins championships!” gets trotted out like it’s some kind of grand epiphany. Yet every single time a top-notch defensive team goes up against a top-notch offensive team people get totally suckered by the sparkly, sexy allure of high-octane offense and the tired, cliche mantra of “defense wins championships” gets hucked out the window. Sometimes, tired cliches are so tired and cliched because they’re pretty much true. I’m willing to bet, though, that the next time a team like Boston or San Antonio or Detroit is pitted against a high-flying offense like your Lakers or Suns or Mavs, everyone is going to get blinded by the glitter and forget about the fundamentals like they always do.

Comment by lurky — June 18, 2008 @ 10:59 am

Thanks to the board members for the intelligent commentary all year. This year was an incredibly fun ride, one of the best I’ve had as a fan. Of course, I skipped through most of the horrific Game 6 on TiVo, so perhaps I’m not as emotionally scarred. Also, strangely, if we have to lose, I’d rather lose in a blowout that gets us mad and burning to prep all off-season, rather than some oh-so-close Game 2 style comeback.

At the end of last year’s playoffs I felt the way Kobe did. Today, I feel pumped up to start next year and get a rematch with the Celtics.

I know we aren’t discussing trade stuff on this board. I’m dying to have some intelligent conversation about what to do with the roster (not necessarily specific trades, but whether we trade Odom, etc.). Any recommendations for good sites? Clublakers.com and lakersground.net automatically turn any thread with “Odom” or “Luke” in it into a flamefest.

Comment by Apricot — June 18, 2008 @ 10:59 am

This is a very depressing day, but doesn’t hurt nearly as much knowing the future is bright. At the beginning of the year, we couldn’t have dreamed of truely competing for the title, and the ease and flow of the team at times this year was something to truely behold.
The future is bright, because most of our growth next year will come internally. Farmar and Sasha will continue to get better, and thus more confident. Pau might get bigger and stronger, or maybe just more confortable. Ariza will learn the triangle, and therefore deserve more time to showcase his other skills. Lamar will continue to do the things he does well, and hopefully dissapear less. Bynum return to health will allow him to re-join a team that obviously needs him, hopefully he works on things that will help him be more durable (core, fitness).
In all, we had a great run, with lots of positives to build on. Maybe the bad taste in our mouth will provide the kick-in-the-ass that they guys need to focus on improving. Can’t wait for next year…

Comment by Rico — June 18, 2008 @ 11:00 am

75. I will say this again about Phil and defense — when the Lakers had Bynum in the first half of the year they were in the top half of the league in defense, they were playing solidly. Having Bynum in back allowed Kobe and others to gamble a little more on steals, or at least not get as burned when they made an error. Gasol was asked to fill that role and that’s not what he is or does. It wasn’t in Memphis and it wasn’t here. If you expect him to play like KG or circa 2000 Shaq is asking him to do things he can’t do.

Gasol needs to be paired with a big body along the front line to do the rebounding and dirty work. If only we had someone like that who was just injured but will be back next year…..

Comment by Kurt — June 18, 2008 @ 11:01 am

Gasol needs to be paired with a big body along the front line to do the rebounding and dirty work. If only we had someone like that who was just injured but will be back next year…..

***

This is a good point–made before, but bears repeating.

Comment by robinred — June 18, 2008 @ 11:03 am

Kurt,
Some of our new bloggers may also have forgotten how spectacular Kobe was while working with Drew. Pau will have to alter his game next year, but I suspect it will work to his strengths, rather than restrict him.

Comment by Craig W. — June 18, 2008 @ 11:05 am

78. We will get to some roster talk and the like in the next few days, it’s just that today the nerves are still a little too raw. We’ll look at what needs to be done. What this site will avoid is the random, not discussed anywhere trade rumors where people decide “Mitch should trade Vlad for X” that drag down discussions on any site. The only specific trade talked allowed is of discussions known to be going on. And Peter Vessey does not count as a source for that.

Comment by Kurt — June 18, 2008 @ 11:11 am

Like most of you, I feel pretty wiped out with a flurry of emotions. But if you take the entire season into perspective, WHAT A RUN!! Bynum WILL make us better. Not just because he is a presence in the middle, but because it allows LO to cover the 3-spot, and it allows Pau to play Robin instead of Batman. The Lakers have a lot of interchangeable parts, guys who can play multiple positions. I like the makeup of the team, and I would not change it, or the chemistry they have. Defense-wise though, that is a different story. Boston’s team defense is a great model to aspire to. We need to be as disruptive as Boston was. Boston’s relentless effort on defense and rebounding and doing the little things, made the young kids look like students of the game. They were absolute beasts. We’ll be back next year — I have no doubts, but hopefully with the kind of soul and energy that the Celtics displayed. Congrats to them.

Comment by raymeister — June 18, 2008 @ 11:17 am

I think Boston looked at how Utah played the Lakers and decided that was the way to win.I t worked and I am sure other teams watched closely.Unless the league makes changes in the way games are called,you are watching the future.And it sucks.

Comment by magiclover — June 18, 2008 @ 11:21 am

realist, hasn’t it been over 20 years since the C’s won a title?
and I’m not sure, maybe you can answer this, how many have the lakers won in since 1980 ?*
maybe you should give the gloating a break, and come back next june, and let’s see what heppens then.
*by the way, we’ve won 8, you’ve won 3
I’d say that “in this era” the lakers have dominated.

Comment by chris h — June 18, 2008 @ 11:24 am

For all the injury talk and “heroics” of Pierce, let’s not forget what the Lakers were forced to go through. Not having Bynum and Ariza’s foot trouble have been well documented, but Kobe has been playing with a finger he should have had surgery on, and Fish was playing with a torn tendon in his foot since March. Despite all these obstacles and our youth, I’d say we had a tremendous season. Just really hurts losing to Boston…I’m looking forward to a rematch next year

Comment by Dany — June 18, 2008 @ 11:37 am

Well, now I think I can write something about what I’m feeling.

I love the Lakers, since the 80’s and all of their history and I’m waiting for the Gatinho’s posts of great stories of the past.

I don’t think this year was bad because we lost the finals. I disagree with Kobe, who said yesterday that “second place just means you’re the first loser.”

It wouldn’t care to me if we were defeated 4-0. But what I’m concern right now is about our lack of character. I saw yesterday a team without heart, no soul in those players. Every time we crossed the mid court, the Laker player with the ball, gave it to Kobe… Nobody wanted the ball… Amazing…

Then Bill Russell killed us in the post, in our glass, everywhere… Wait, that guy wasn’t Russell… We was… No, really? Kevin Garnett!!! Wow… I can’t believe it… Only a very softy team could make him a decisive player in a Final… And we did it.

So that’s my point. This team would be remembered because of the great season, but this players are going to carry in their memory the collapse of the game 4 and the “I don’t know how to call it” game 6. I think that you have character or you don’t. You don’t built character. Like everybody knows that Lamar Odom is never going to be a leader because he’s not a leader.

This team is softy. Imagine a Celtics’ collapse in the Garden like the one we had in the game 4… Yes, it’s impossible.

Kurt, you said that the Bulls lo