Comments on: Preseason Game Thread: Lakers v. Barcelona

By: Hassan

Hassan — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:24:25 +0000

Yeah the second unit definitely looked sharp. They came out with great energy, they were rebounding, they were forcing turnovers, and they were making plenty of excellent passes. I like how Odom, Walton and Farmar were moving the ball around, and Bynum and Ariza were taking it to the rim.

Farmar’s passing was sexy throughout, he looked like he’s been working on his handles too. All he was really missing was a solid three-point shot.

Also one thing I really liked is how Kobe seemed to be taking shots in the offense more than creating the offense single-handedly. His shot selection was really good, not too many off-balance fadeaways. I think that’s awesome because I really hope PJ tries to get the Lakers to work offensively without Kobe this year. If they have a solid offense without having to have Kobe rescue them all the time, It’ll create alot more space for Kobe to work in and hopefully let him get some bench time in during the regular season.

We should take that game with a grain of salt though, Barca’s defence didn’t look to strong and they did seem very prone to TOs. Also their shooting 3 balls all the time was making for long rebounds and more fast breaks for the Lakes, which really helped the second string.

By: chris h

chris h — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:00:48 +0000

i liked seeing LO run the second unit, when he got the rebound and took off, it was “off to the races” and that unit with farmar, trevor, luke, andrew with LO was stretching out the lead.
wouldn’t it be nice (beach boys) if we could have a solid starting unit of Kobe, Fish, Radman, bymun and Pau,
then rotate in the “bench mob” of LO, Trevor, (vary the 5 spot, DL impressed me last night) with Farmar, sasha, luke…etc, as necessary.
this second unit should be able to stretch out leads.

that’s how the Dodgers won the penant that year, with the “stunt men” of Mickey hatcher, et al…
and that’s going to be a huge plus for us this year.

By: Mamba24

Mamba24 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:52:39 +0000

I think this game showed showed quite a few things about us. First quarter showed us we can blow teams out early by playing good D and fluid offense. Second quarter showed we can let them back in just as easily because of not enough discipline on defense by everybody. Also, Pau played great and with lots of energy and if he can provide this type of effort night in, night out, we’ll be very great. Kobe’s legs had us worried by coach’s comments, I think all that should stop after this game as well. All in all, good game that showed some of the weaknesses that we definately need to work on

By: Bill Bridges

Bill Bridges — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:34:26 +0000

Barcelona was better than expected. Not close the glory years of Dejan Bodiroga, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Juan Carlos Navarro in 03 when they operated a kind of twin towers. You’d beat Bodiroga off the dribble only to find another Fucka between you and the basket…

I saw the ’00 FCB team with a young Pau Gasol play my team in London and he was draining 3′s with ease. (He played the SF position) I suspect Pau will get his share of corner 3′s as the triangle is explored deeper and I predict very good success for him.

By: Bill Bridges

Bill Bridges — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:14:02 +0000

JCN never really got going in Memphis. (Maybe he is one of those players that only plays well for a good team). He is still the best Spanish point guard in the world, better than Rubio or Calderon. Reminds me of another dead-eye play maker, Steve Nash. Don’t think D’Antoni would know how to use him at NY? Milwaukee, Indiana, Nuggs, and a dozen other teams really missed out by not trying to sign him before he went back to Spain.

By: k_swagger8

k_swagger8 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:24:59 +0000

so much for kobe’s “tired legs”…

By: chearn

chearn — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 05:38:07 +0000

Defense?? The Lakers never attempted to stop Navarros. He stood at the 3pt line shot after shot with no Laker in sight. Someone should have made the effort to slow him down!

Barcelona fought their way back into the game after being down by 20. Kobe took Barcelona’s heart when he took the game over and scored effortlessly. We will be in for a very short season if the only way that we can take control of the game is to give the ball to no. 24!

We need to stop this now, by learning how to take control of a game or to win a game with our defensive prowess.

By: Hassan

Hassan — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:53:34 +0000

Mamba24 that is true, but the second quarter was a whole different line up. I’ve been expecting alot from Sun Yue, all those TOs have been a little upsetting. I do think its his first game though?

Its good to see Luke Walton back, and that little Spanish Tear-Drop Floater that we say so much in the Olympics. Soft touch!

By: Mamba24

Mamba24 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:33:57 +0000

jxhan,
so much for the tight defense in the second quarter, they are lighting us up from behind the arc in the second

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:18:05 +0000

Wow, those were pretty passes by Jordan. Jordan to Ariza makes me very, very happy.