Comments on: The Blueprint For Beating The Lakers http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/ A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers). Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:28:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Phil http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592097 Phil Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:37:22 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592097 Being a laker fan and watching the countless games that we play, the weaknesses that we have are evident. The label of being "soft" has lightened up ever since boston exposed us last year in the finals but i think the lakers inability to close out on shooters as well as the defensive lapses that AS a TEAM rather than individual players. You cannot just blame individuals like rad and farmar because it is up to the team to help them. Look at boston, before garnet came, Peirce wasn't even considered a decent defender, same goes for ray allen but if you look now, their improvement has helped boston become an elite team. Rad has size (6'10) and pretty long arms which fits with our identity on defense (bothering oposing offenses with out lenght). Rad wonders off as and doesn't think with his mind whatsover and i think it is up to the coaching staff to fix this because there are times where we are going to need rad's shooting and ability to spread the floor without giving up too much defense. Like mentioned before, when the offense runs through bynum and pau, good things will happen (many teams would love two seven footers who have extremely long arms on their rosters). Bynum continues to improve and will get better before playoffs and gasol has found his swagger this season where he is showing that toughness (last game dunked on two wizards players without looking for foul and ran back to play defense). Kobe understands that he doesn't have to take over the game as much but he does know when Pau and drew are struggling in which gives him the go-ahead to take over. The only teams that have a chance to make this intresting in a 7 game period is Houston when healthy. New Orleans can't beat us with limited bench and lack of size-last game was more of a fluke-West and Paul aren't going to have games like that in a 7 game period, Spurs can't defend both pau and drew, too much size and length for duncan alone and last game didn't have three players as well as the lucky threepoint play from rogers. Everyone else in the west has a glaring weakness in which the lakers can completely expose in a 7 game period. In the east, the only team to give us trouble in terms of matchups is Orlando. Cleveland poses no huge threat to us though dangerous and doesn't have the bench to compete with us, once lebron(though amazing) goes to the bench that team falls apart and if you watched the game, once lebron fails to enter the paint, he diverts to jacking up shots and many would rather have him to do just that. Boston, even though we won't take lightly, just doesn't have a strong enough bench to beat us. James posey really hurt them when he left because he not only brought scoring but a reliable defender to that second unit and i think with the emergence of ariza who can check Peirce with an occasional help defender as well as having bynum back which is helpful like in the last game we played them. In last years finals garnet would take gasol or odom to the perimeter freeing up Pernkins but with bynum patroling the paint it won't be as easy. I think we have to go and beat the boston celtics in their homecourt to full regain our mojo because we were ineffecitve in their court last year in the finals. Orlando on the other hand pose the biggest threat because of their three point shooting, in which we have a weakness of closing out on them. The only good thing about facing them is the fact that they won't be lights out from three point range everytime and i think that if nelson doesn't run around us and score threes, we should be okay. Being a laker fan and watching the countless games that we play, the weaknesses that we have are evident. The label of being “soft” has lightened up ever since boston exposed us last year in the finals but i think the lakers inability to close out on shooters as well as the defensive lapses that AS a TEAM rather than individual players. You cannot just blame individuals like rad and farmar because it is up to the team to help them. Look at boston, before garnet came, Peirce wasn’t even considered a decent defender, same goes for ray allen but if you look now, their improvement has helped boston become an elite team. Rad has size (6’10) and pretty long arms which fits with our identity on defense (bothering oposing offenses with out lenght). Rad wonders off as and doesn’t think with his mind whatsover and i think it is up to the coaching staff to fix this because there are times where we are going to need rad’s shooting and ability to spread the floor without giving up too much defense. Like mentioned before, when the offense runs through bynum and pau, good things will happen (many teams would love two seven footers who have extremely long arms on their rosters). Bynum continues to improve and will get better before playoffs and gasol has found his swagger this season where he is showing that toughness (last game dunked on two wizards players without looking for foul and ran back to play defense). Kobe understands that he doesn’t have to take over the game as much but he does know when Pau and drew are struggling in which gives him the go-ahead to take over. The only teams that have a chance to make this intresting in a 7 game period is Houston when healthy. New Orleans can’t beat us with limited bench and lack of size-last game was more of a fluke-West and Paul aren’t going to have games like that in a 7 game period, Spurs can’t defend both pau and drew, too much size and length for duncan alone and last game didn’t have three players as well as the lucky threepoint play from rogers. Everyone else in the west has a glaring weakness in which the lakers can completely expose in a 7 game period. In the east, the only team to give us trouble in terms of matchups is Orlando. Cleveland poses no huge threat to us though dangerous and doesn’t have the bench to compete with us, once lebron(though amazing) goes to the bench that team falls apart and if you watched the game, once lebron fails to enter the paint, he diverts to jacking up shots and many would rather have him to do just that. Boston, even though we won’t take lightly, just doesn’t have a strong enough bench to beat us. James posey really hurt them when he left because he not only brought scoring but a reliable defender to that second unit and i think with the emergence of ariza who can check Peirce with an occasional help defender as well as having bynum back which is helpful like in the last game we played them. In last years finals garnet would take gasol or odom to the perimeter freeing up Pernkins but with bynum patroling the paint it won’t be as easy. I think we have to go and beat the boston celtics in their homecourt to full regain our mojo because we were ineffecitve in their court last year in the finals. Orlando on the other hand pose the biggest threat because of their three point shooting, in which we have a weakness of closing out on them. The only good thing about facing them is the fact that they won’t be lights out from three point range everytime and i think that if nelson doesn’t run around us and score threes, we should be okay.

]]> By: John http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592096 John Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:27:28 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592096 Interesting analysis on how to beat the Lakers, because I guess they've become good enough to need an instruction manual on how to do just that. I've read with interest on the various ways. However, that's assuming all these are executed as they're presented. Every analysis has to have a counter analysis. What are teams going to with Bynum now taking lobs around the basket? Teams know that Kobe must be double teamed (and they do that at the arc). Gasol also requires attention. That leaves Bynum open. What happens when Bynum starts implementing the skyhook that Kareem is tutoring him on (he shoots it regularly in practice)? He gets that going in the game, and he doesn't need to worry about positioning. He catches it in the post, turns around, lets it fly and it's in the bucket. Gasol can do just about anything except muscle up on a guy like Howard. So let's not get entirely caught up in only what teams can do to beat the Lakers. They're not 34-8 with the best record in the NBA because strategies work to stop them consistently. Obviously, what the team is doing in order to win works out more often. Interesting analysis on how to beat the Lakers, because I guess they’ve become good enough to need an instruction manual on how to do just that. I’ve read with interest on the various ways. However, that’s assuming all these are executed as they’re presented. Every analysis has to have a counter analysis. What are teams going to with Bynum now taking lobs around the basket? Teams know that Kobe must be double teamed (and they do that at the arc). Gasol also requires attention. That leaves Bynum open. What happens when Bynum starts implementing the skyhook that Kareem is tutoring him on (he shoots it regularly in practice)? He gets that going in the game, and he doesn’t need to worry about positioning. He catches it in the post, turns around, lets it fly and it’s in the bucket. Gasol can do just about anything except muscle up on a guy like Howard. So let’s not get entirely caught up in only what teams can do to beat the Lakers. They’re not 34-8 with the best record in the NBA because strategies work to stop them consistently. Obviously, what the team is doing in order to win works out more often.

]]> By: tommy http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592088 tommy Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:00:03 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592088 that was a good anaylisis of how to beat the lakers, but the thing that seperates the lakers from the pack this year is the versatality the lakers have with bynum and ariza. watch out if bynum continues to improve and get the touches on offense. also on defense i like it when we go with ariza, kobe and sasha without fish or farmar. it reminds me of the bulls team with jordan, pippen and ron harper. we get alot of deflections and stop penetration better than when we have the smaller point guard in there. that was a good anaylisis of how to beat the lakers, but the thing that seperates the lakers from the pack this year is the versatality the lakers have with bynum and ariza. watch out if bynum continues to improve and get the touches on offense.
also on defense i like it when we go with ariza, kobe and sasha without fish or farmar. it reminds me of the bulls team with jordan, pippen and ron harper. we get alot of deflections and stop penetration better than when we have the smaller point guard in there.

]]> By: md http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592085 md Sun, 25 Jan 2009 04:29:11 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592085 Just saw Todds comment. Not quite as ridiculous as ocho but still absurd. Kupchak has done an incredible job putting this team together and having the patience to wait it out until it all came together. Through the pressure of Kobe running out of patience and wanting to be traded. The Lakers were turning it around last year before the Gasol trade and when things looked fine, Kupchak made one final tweak to the lineup. Trading for Trevor Ariza. Of course you look at the trade now and think no-brainer but to understand the brilliance of the trade you have to take yourself back to that time. The Lakers were playing well and getting better. Trevor Ariza was buried on Orlando's bench. No one really knew that Ariza was capable of the things he is doing today except for Kupchak. The team was finally gaining confidence and picking up victories. It appeared that everything was going great and it wasnt broke so why tinker with it. But Kupchak didnt let that success blind him from adding maybe the final piece to a championship caliber team. Its players like Ariza that make intangible type plays that help turn contenders into champions. Every champion needs a Robert Horry/ James Posey type. I thought Kupchak deserved that exec of the year last year and even more so this year. Look at last years winner , ainge. What did he do to deserve the award? Trade for garnett with an old celtic buddy. Trade for ray allen when the sonics were rebuilding with Durant so they were looking to move him anyway. Sign Posey who wanted to come to the celtics. And sign pj brown who would only sign with the celtics so how could you mess that up. Pray that his crappy draft picks would fill roles effectively. 2 players he drafted are good though. Al Jefferson and rajon rondo. Jefferson is a no brainer and lets see how effective rondo is without 3 hall of famers. What did Kupchak do? Drafted all those players who finally started maturing last year. Stole the bigman of the future in the draft. Stood firm against Kobe last year in maybe the Lakers darkest hour. And made a trade for Ariza that was barely a ripple at the time and turned out to be huge. Then theres the Gasol trade which I wont even count and its still overwhelmingly in Kupchaks favor. Lets look at this year. Both GMs stayed pat with what they had but one GM's assesment of the situation was accurate while the others was not. Mitch Kupchak felt he had added all the pieces needed last year and they would deliver this year. Those players continue to improve and the present looks bright but the future even brighter. Danny Ainge felt he had all the pieces in place to support his big three. He let Posey go thinking tony allen could do what posey did. wrong. he neglected to add a big man thinking his players he drafted would continue to step up. Instead those players revert back to the not so good prospects that they are, tony allen cant fill poseys shoes and never will, and the bench is a major, glaring weak spot this year. I think Kupchak deserves the award more this year than last. And another thing. The Lakers arent the team with the max salary. LAst year they were around 5th or so. They try to stay under the cap and field a title contender and are doing a great job. I dont know how the cap situation was in the 80s or if they even had one. but I do know its more strict today. And Kurt is right this team is still very young and still are learning everything about being a winner including keeping your foot on teams throats and playing consistently every night. Just saw Todds comment. Not quite as ridiculous as ocho but still absurd. Kupchak has done an incredible job putting this team together and having the patience to wait it out until it all came together. Through the pressure of Kobe running out of patience and wanting to be traded. The Lakers were turning it around last year before the Gasol trade and when things looked fine, Kupchak made one final tweak to the lineup. Trading for Trevor Ariza. Of course you look at the trade now and think no-brainer but to understand the brilliance of the trade you have to take yourself back to that time. The Lakers were playing well and getting better. Trevor Ariza was buried on Orlando’s bench. No one really knew that Ariza was capable of the things he is doing today except for Kupchak. The team was finally gaining confidence and picking up victories. It appeared that everything was going great and it wasnt broke so why tinker with it. But Kupchak didnt let that success blind him from adding maybe the final piece to a championship caliber team. Its players like Ariza that make intangible type plays that help turn contenders into champions. Every champion needs a Robert Horry/ James Posey type.

I thought Kupchak deserved that exec of the year last year and even more so this year. Look at last years winner , ainge. What did he do to deserve the award? Trade for garnett with an old celtic buddy. Trade for ray allen when the sonics were rebuilding with Durant so they were looking to move him anyway. Sign Posey who wanted to come to the celtics. And sign pj brown who would only sign with the celtics so how could you mess that up. Pray that his crappy draft picks would fill roles effectively. 2 players he drafted are good though. Al Jefferson and rajon rondo. Jefferson is a no brainer and lets see how effective rondo is without 3 hall of famers. What did Kupchak do? Drafted all those players who finally started maturing last year. Stole the bigman of the future in the draft. Stood firm against Kobe last year in maybe the Lakers darkest hour. And made a trade for Ariza that was barely a ripple at the time and turned out to be huge. Then theres the Gasol trade which I wont even count and its still overwhelmingly in Kupchaks favor.

Lets look at this year. Both GMs stayed pat with what they had but one GM’s assesment of the situation was accurate while the others was not. Mitch Kupchak felt he had added all the pieces needed last year and they would deliver this year. Those players continue to improve and the present looks bright but the future even brighter. Danny Ainge felt he had all the pieces in place to support his big three. He let Posey go thinking tony allen could do what posey did. wrong. he neglected to add a big man thinking his players he drafted would continue to step up. Instead those players revert back to the not so good prospects that they are, tony allen cant fill poseys shoes and never will, and the bench is a major, glaring weak spot this year. I think Kupchak deserves the award more this year than last.

And another thing. The Lakers arent the team with the max salary. LAst year they were around 5th or so. They try to stay under the cap and field a title contender and are doing a great job. I dont know how the cap situation was in the 80s or if they even had one. but I do know its more strict today. And Kurt is right this team is still very young and still are learning everything about being a winner including keeping your foot on teams throats and playing consistently every night.

]]> By: anthony http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592083 anthony Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:35:01 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592083 the article hit the nail on the head.... its almost kinda sad that the kings couldnt sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed. that would be a good series because of the matchups. if the spurs somehow trade for decent center they will be as good as the lakers... the article hit the nail on the head…. its almost kinda sad that the kings couldnt sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed. that would be a good series because of the matchups. if the spurs somehow trade for decent center they will be as good as the lakers…

]]> By: md http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592080 md Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:19:14 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592080 nice post, i was enjoying reading the very insightful comments until i came across ocho. that is one of the most ridiculous comments i have ever heard. It sounds like a personal hatred for Kobe rather than an intelligent observation. Whether Kobe misses a game does not matter with the injury he has. Sitting out a game is not the difference in his fingers getting to 100%. Surgery is required and healing time to fix his fingers and that would cost him precious time being out there and he knows every second together is important to fully get to know eachother and be on top of their game come playoff time. He is making the sacrifice of pain and less shooting accuracy to make sure this team is ready. So now the Lakers learn how to play with a hobbled Kobe being a distributor and seeing other players step up for crucial baskets. That is as unselfish as you can get from your superstar. By comparison, what did Shaq do when he had injuries that needed surgery? Thinking back on it, its another reason I view Shaq as maybe the most selfish player besides Marbury. It will never be forgotten that Shaq was the leader in bringing 3 championships to L.A. but it will also never be forgotten how he costed us chances at more titles and how he tried to leave this franchise in shambles. But one thing everybody learned again is that no player is bigger than the LAkers. Not even Snaq Oneal. But enough about Snaq. Bynum had a career game that could finally launch him back on the dominating track and who was the main catalyst? Who was feeding him the ball and feeding his confidence? Kobe Bryant. But yeah your right, he should'nt have been playing against the Clippers. How selfish of him. nice post, i was enjoying reading the very insightful comments until i came across ocho. that is one of the most ridiculous comments i have ever heard. It sounds like a personal hatred for Kobe rather than an intelligent observation.

Whether Kobe misses a game does not matter with the injury he has. Sitting out a game is not the difference in his fingers getting to 100%. Surgery is required and healing time to fix his fingers and that would cost him precious time being out there and he knows every second together is important to fully get to know eachother and be on top of their game come playoff time. He is making the sacrifice of pain and less shooting accuracy to make sure this team is ready. So now the Lakers learn how to play with a hobbled Kobe being a distributor and seeing other players step up for crucial baskets. That is as unselfish as you can get from your superstar. By comparison, what did Shaq do when he had injuries that needed surgery? Thinking back on it, its another reason I view Shaq as maybe the most selfish player besides Marbury.
It will never be forgotten that Shaq was the leader in bringing 3 championships to L.A. but it will also never be forgotten how he costed us chances at more titles and how he tried to leave this franchise in shambles. But one thing everybody learned again is that no player is bigger than the LAkers. Not even Snaq Oneal. But enough about Snaq.

Bynum had a career game that could finally launch him back on the dominating track and who was the main catalyst? Who was feeding him the ball and feeding his confidence? Kobe Bryant. But yeah your right, he should’nt have been playing against the Clippers. How selfish of him.

]]> By: John Paul T. EstebN http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592066 John Paul T. EstebN Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:44:45 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592066 Nobody is beating the Lakers in the west this season, nobody. Nuff said. Nobody is beating the Lakers in the west this season, nobody. Nuff said.

]]> By: Kurt http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592060 Kurt Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:21:49 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592060 And, for the record, if you remember a Lakers team from the 80s that played inspired ball every night, you are wearing rose colored glasses. Although, they did play more consistently with passion than this team. But this team is younger. And, for the record, if you remember a Lakers team from the 80s that played inspired ball every night, you are wearing rose colored glasses. Although, they did play more consistently with passion than this team. But this team is younger.

]]> By: Kurt http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592059 Kurt Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:20:35 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592059 Todd, the Lakers during the Magic era were much closer to buying a championship than this team. That squad had no salary cap to deal with, they were able to get Magic Johnson and James Worthy in trades for draft picks that would never be allowed today. They had no restrictions in the players they got to fill in around the stars. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy last season, when years of picking the right role players and taking risks like Bynum in the draft all came together at once. Yes, there was the Gasol trade, but if you watch Memphis you see that was not a bad deal for them either. And, the Yankees have no salary cap to deal with, as evidenced by their spending this off season. It is a very different situation than the Lakers. Todd, the Lakers during the Magic era were much closer to buying a championship than this team. That squad had no salary cap to deal with, they were able to get Magic Johnson and James Worthy in trades for draft picks that would never be allowed today. They had no restrictions in the players they got to fill in around the stars.

I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy last season, when years of picking the right role players and taking risks like Bynum in the draft all came together at once. Yes, there was the Gasol trade, but if you watch Memphis you see that was not a bad deal for them either. And, the Yankees have no salary cap to deal with, as evidenced by their spending this off season. It is a very different situation than the Lakers.

]]> By: Todd http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2009/01/20/the-blueprint-for-beating-the-lakers/comment-page-2/#comment-592058 Todd Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:08:06 +0000 http://www.forumblueandgold.com/?p=1489#comment-592058 Although I have lived in LA for more than 20 years, my love for the Lakers died with the retirement of Magic. Since then, the Lakers have used their league status and popularity to gather immense groups of talent over and above any other team in the NBA. Their current team could easily be broken into two and each would have a decent record in the East or West. They are the Yankees of the NBA. If you are a fan that only cares about winning, it is good news for you. If you are a basketball fan who wants Champions to earn that title, you are out of luck. I have always appreciated the teams in the NBA that had to have very good games from role players just to win. This year, that includes Orlando and Clevland (to a lesser extent, San Antonio). These teams are getting contributions from everywhere to achieve their excellent records. The Lakers actually play a lot of uninspired ball. In relatively close games, they only need to focus for a single quarter to pull away or pull out a win. WIth two players that can drop 40+ per night, two players that can drop 30+ per night and several starters that can put up 20+, they cruise more than they play. It will be interesting to see if Boston adds Marbury to get a 4th star to compete with LA. Although I have lived in LA for more than 20 years, my love for the Lakers died with the retirement of Magic.
Since then, the Lakers have used their league status and popularity to gather immense groups of talent over and above any other team in the NBA. Their current team could easily be broken into two and each would have a decent record in the East or West. They are the Yankees of the NBA.
If you are a fan that only cares about winning, it is good news for you. If you are a basketball fan who wants Champions to earn that title, you are out of luck.
I have always appreciated the teams in the NBA that had to have very good games from role players just to win. This year, that includes Orlando and Clevland (to a lesser extent, San Antonio). These teams are getting contributions from everywhere to achieve their excellent records.
The Lakers actually play a lot of uninspired ball. In relatively close games, they only need to focus for a single quarter to pull away or pull out a win. WIth two players that can drop 40+ per night, two players that can drop 30+ per night and several starters that can put up 20+, they cruise more than they play.
It will be interesting to see if Boston adds Marbury to get a 4th star to compete with LA.

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