Comments on: Lakers Preseason Game 2: Welcome To Fresno

By: sT

sT — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:47:59 +0000

I think we need to let the preseason and some regular season games run through, before any player or combination of players can be effectivly evaluated. I would not yet give up on Lamar, I remember what he did last year for the Lakers and I do not think that person is just going to disappear.

By: JONESONTHENBA

JONESONTHENBA — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:37:27 +0000

44) You realize that Lamar is the one that planted the seeds of bringing the team together last year. In training camp in Hawaii he hired a personal chef to cook for the team just to make sure the team ate together every single day. Remember, this was at a time when things were the most rocky, with Kobe basically dumping on all his teammates. Lamar has been a selfless team leader for some time now, and I don’t expect that to change this season.

By: Mamula

Mamula — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:27:46 +0000

I meant ever since Shaq left

By: Mamula

Mamula — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:27:24 +0000

I think ever since Shaw left the town, we, Laker fans, have become rather pessimistic, trying to expect the worst possible, getting concerned by the least meaningful of problems and most importantly not being the real fans we should be and support the team instead of criticizing things that have not even happened yet.

What did we expect? Bynum to come back and all the guys return and blow oppositions out in the meaningless preseason games where the likes of Mitchell and Carl (no disrespect) play significant minutes? please

I am not a big Hollinger fan… He is everything that Kobe-haters love…. That clown even compared KB24 to Vince Carter. However, even in Hollinger’s rankings, which I found interesting and really comprehensively developed, the top 20 of the league’s most efficient players contains 3 Lakers (Kobe, Pau and Bynum). Of course those are projections for the upcoming year, but when a dude like Hollinger thinks that in a 30-team league Lakers have 3 players in top 20, you should know that this squad is for real.

As for Lamar, I am going to love how he proves all the doubters wrong. I do not expect him to burst into the picture and put up big numbers, but I believe he is capable of doing right things for this team and have full faith in our coaching staff’s ability to make the right calls.

We have Farmar, Ariza, Bynum and Sascha improving, Kobe adding winner maturity to his superstar skills and status, Pau blossoming in the triangle, D-Fish providing necessary reliability, toughness and leadership, and Lamar Odom being the best X factor any team in the league has right now.

I am not too high on Walton, RadMan, Mihm and other guys, but I am sure they would be in regular rotation for most other teams in the league and could have even started for some.

So please, let’s start believing!

By: alex v.

alex v. — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:29:20 +0000

The problem with trading Odom is that he already represents the one thing the Lakers really need: a big expiring contract. (I think of it as the other half of the expiring-contracts-for-Gasol trade.)

The Lakers need money (cap space) to resign Bynum and Ariza; what they don’t need is more players looking for PT. If the Lakers were a bad team, then, sure, package Odom with a couple of other contracts and try to make a big move. But they’re not.

I’d really like to see Odom make it work with the first team, but I think the real alternatives are his becoming part of (what we hope is) an awesome second team and his sitting on the bench gathering dust for a season. I don’t think it makes sense for the Lakers to trade him.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:47:29 +0000

What people seem to be saying is that Odom is an asset to the team. I agree with that. However, unless he gets the chip off of his soldier, and starts playing no matter what role Jackson envisions for him, then he ceases to remain an asset. In that case, trade the chump. Shape up or ship out, Lamar.

By: rubens

rubens — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:21:19 +0000

A second team of Farmar, Sasha, Walton, Radman, and Odom or Mihm doesn’t sound that bad, does it?

By: rubens

rubens — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:19:34 +0000

I thought the Odom-Pau-Bynum frontcourt at the start of the third was good in defense, but lacking in offense. I actually thought that the Pau-Bynum sightin in either the first or second quarter was better. I believe Ariza was in at the time. Pau made a couple of jumpers and Kobe was in the post for a basket, with the assist given to Bynum.

So far we still haven’t given the lineup much of a chance, but it looks like it would be better for Odom to come off the bench.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:19:40 +0000

New Post Up, Boston Celtics. But keep the Odom conversation going here.

By: Ryan O

Ryan O — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:28:59 +0000

Ditto to all the people baffled by the Odom trade talk. He’s a tremendous asset and a great fit with the offense when used appropriately. I feel like everyone is just suffering from unrealistic expectations right now, and Odom has become the focal point of that. You know the old, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed line” your parents would give you when you screwed up? I think that pretty much sums up the sentiments around here right now.

43. Drunken5yearold makes great points. There are indeed plenty of minutes to be had in the frontcourt, and I don’t think anyone hear wants them to be soaked up by the likes of Josh Powell and the Space Cadet. We need depth up front, and Odom provides that in spades. Very lucid arguments from an inebriated toddler.