Comments on: Preseason Game Three Chat: Vegas Baby!

By: T34

T34 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:07:41 +0000

A lot of glimpses of this team starting to gel last night. Nice to see. As far as the SF dilemma (if you can really call it that), I like the starting 5 of Fisher/Kobe/Ariza/Gasol/Bynum on paper, although I really like the motivated/end of last year Odom. I wouldn’t mind seeing a Fisher/Kobe/Ariza/Odom/Gasol lineup to start the season and then maybe try out the big Odom/Gasol/Bynum unit. It’s really a tough call. Andrew looks like he deserves the starting minutes, but all that size may not be ideal. Odom hasn’t been playing particularly well but much of that could be credited to early pre-season/getting back in the flow. We’ll see soon enough. Very excited for this season.

By: Darius

Darius — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:18:11 +0000

New post up. Continue game thoughts and our starting SF in this post.

By: ryan

ryan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:01:31 +0000

Didn’t see the game but looking at who started I think on paper starting Vlad and bringing Odom and Ariza off the bench with Farmar could be a really good rotation. Start with a power line up (Bynum and Gasol) with good shooters in Vlad, Kobe and Fisher. Then bring in a more finesse hustle line up that will push the pace by bringing in Ariza for Vlad, Farmar for Fish, and Odom for Bynum/Gasol. Alternatively you could Move Kobe to the 3 and bring in Sasha instead of Ariza then have ariza replace Kobe at the beginning of the 2nd quarter then run the half court offense from the post through Gasol/Bynum.

By: wondahbap

wondahbap — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:35:55 +0000

Stephen,

You are worrying way too much. Kobe’s fine. I think we all know that a 12 year vet, perennial all-star, 1st team NBA’er, all defender, MVP champion knows to pace himself in the preseason.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:48:04 +0000

Finally finished watching the game, and the lineup of Fish, Kobe, Ariza, Odom and Gasol (then eventually Bynum for Gasol) was a real force — pressured the ball, used their length, contested shots and just hustled on rotations and traps.

It’s starting to come together, albeit slowly at times.

By: Kareem

Kareem — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:33:33 +0000

Watching KCAL, they took a poll of the audience asking who should start at the three. Overwhelmingly, the crowd supported Vladdy before both Ariza and Odom. I think the hustle Vlad showed tonight drew credence to the argument of starting him at the three. As Kurt just mentioned, VladRad would space the floor, threatening with the long ball; although his passing strays dicey time to time.

Odom is a starting four in this league. But we have a choice between Gasol and Odom at the four. Easy enough–Gasol starts. I love Odom, but he is not our starting three. It’s not best for our team. He should backup four for Gasol. I’m sure it’s been said here before, because everyone at FB&G is on the pulse, but there should be three main combinations of C/PF: Bynum and Gasol, Gasol and Odom, Bynum and Odom. Watch out for Powell, too, he played a beast of a game tonight. That 14 foot jumper he’s got is on point.

Bynum and Gasol: 15 minutes
Gasol and Odom: 15 Minutes
Bynum and Odom: 15 Minutes

You run with the team that gives you the best match ups down the stretch. Just think, we have a starting lineup of Bynum, Gasol, VladRad, Kobe, Fisher; then, when the time is right, we flash to starting lineup number two, Gasol, Odom, Ariza, Sasha, and Farmar. Hell, our second lineup makes the playoffs in the East.

A big problem we have–if good fortune is unfortunate–is our monster roster. How do we find minutes for everyone? How do we please the (fair) sentiments of players like Odom and Bynum who are playing for their contracts and need minutes to showcase their talents? How do players like Powell and Mihm, Walton and Ariza find more than ten, fifteen minutes of burn a game to find their game? How can we mesh this hodgepodge into a cohesive and happy unit. Sure, players love championships; but real players love to play. Even a man as seemingly passive as Odom, dreams and expects a starting role.

That said, Odom deserves 30 minutes a game, and the team will be better for it. No one other than Kobe runs the transition better than Odom. Odom and Gasol have great chemistry, and there is no reason to abandon that game. He needs to play on an up-tempo squad, because his offense is so geared towards the transition, penetration, instinct. I guess, to vocalize what I really want from Odom is that drive, spin, lay-in or lay-off. He should do nothing but go to the hoop. That’s also all I want Kobe to do. Penetrate. Just drive and dunk, drive and pass. Maybe, with reduced minutes, less wear and stress, we will see a more physical offense. We saw this just for moments today. I’m very excited for this year.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:01:07 +0000

I think VladRad is going to get a fair amount of playing time this year, especially paired with Gasol and Bymum, because he can spread the floor. There are matchups where the other team will not be able to exploit him on defense, and there are times he can really have big games in that lineup.

By: sam

sam — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:56:17 +0000

12.

tell me if i m wrong but i thought radman played more than decent tonight. If you are worry about his overall consistency then i would agree with you as well. but for tonight, i thought hes active on both offence and defence, having a good stroke, getting into the mix a bit; and overall the first team look more smooth with him in the lineup then both odom and ariza.

By: Craig W.

Craig W. — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:37:58 +0000

Not sure what I saw, but everything looked a little smoother and Lamar had some life this game. I think Crawford, Heath and Mbenga are gone, but CJ Giles would seem to still have an outside chance. Cobe Karl seems set at the end of the bench. I do like Chris Mihm’s athleticism.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:08:40 +0000

LA Ball Talk,
I realize Kobe doesn’t assert himself in the Exhibition Season,but that he doesn’t distorts the offense. In tonite’s game he looked to me to have some tired legs and I think it would be wise to sit him for a couple of games so he could be relatively fresh for the regular season. Second sitting Kobe would give Lamar the chance to be the main man and gain some confidence.
I wonder if Sasha was healthy would Kobe have not played in the first or second game?

Harold,
Salmons was very active defending Kobe. Kobe also missed several shots-including an open dunk and layup-that he misses once a yr. He looked like he had a bad case of dead training camp legs.
The turnovers were mainly over-passing,forcing passes into a crowded lane and pushing the ball too hard on fast breaks. The Lakers will get better at their spacing,timing of their cuts and just getting to know one another and the turnovers should start to drop.

George,
I believe the Lakers would be better off starting Ariza because of his defense. Phil had Rad guard Martin and Martin repeatedly lost him.A more disciplined team would abuse Rad for the defense he displayed.
You can certainly make the argument Ariza provides a spark off the bench and I would agree. But I think the Lakers need that spark even more starting because otherwise your energy guy is Kobe. Besides Sasha and Farmar can provide a jolt of energy off the bench.
Since we’re pretty much assuming Lamar is coming off the bench,and he is more playmaker than scorer,teaming him w/a shooter like Rad is better than teaming him w/another slasher.