Gasol harping on ball movement in the media is not smart. How did that work for Shaq? He will find himself shipped out fast. This is Kobe’s world and without a signed contract he has even more control over the future of this team

I have no trust in the outside shooting of Fisher and Artest. They are the ones being left open this year. Fish is 5% lower in shooting this year and if you look at Artest in the playoffs last year he was bad from three.

Kobe does shoot to much but so would I. Gasol drops the ball, Odom just passes it back, Fish misses etc etc. If the ball can’t get in the post due to over crowding then Kobe has to shoot because there is no 2nd option.

One thing for sure if Phil dosen’t solve this problem this will be his last year and the end of the triangle. You know that thinking mans offense that smart player excell with. Pippin, Harper, Kerr, Jordan, Shaw, Horry etc.

You don’t see Bynam, Artest, Brown or Farmer’s name on the above list.

When I watch Dallas or Cleveland run their offense and then compare to ours I have doubt in my mind. Even the crazy offense of Denver includes more sharing and passing. Why is that?

We can only hope for the best but please don’t pretend the answer to our problems is the return of Sasha!!!!!!!!!!!!

Player A: 20%, 28%, 35%, 34%, 35%, 32%, 48%.
Player B: 50%, 30%, 33%, 20%, 33%, 35%, 51%.

These are the monthly splits for the 3 point shooting percentage of each player, with the last number in each row being that player’s percentage in the playoffs. Player A is Trevor Ariza; Player B is Lamar Odom.

Moral is we were plagued by poor shooting all throughout the regular season last year, too, but these guys turned it on when it counted. Outside shooting is our Achilles’ Heel, but it is not a certainty that it will down us in the playoffs. I’m not saying I know for certain that these guys will turn it on come April, May, and hopefully June, but I am saying that it is a distinct possibility, one that shouldn’t be lost in all the “woe-is-me.”

I think what we lose when Kobe and Bynum are in the game is activity off the ball. Kobe has never been a strong cutter, whether because he just doesn’t have the athleticism or the drive to do so, I’m not sure. But his off-ball work consists mostly of grinding in the post, not cuts to the basket. Similarly, most of Bynum’s work comes off working int the post, not through off-ball movement. If you take Kobe and Bynum and replace them with Brown and Odom, then you’ve got one of the most active off-ball teams in the league. Quietly, Artest has become arguably our best cutter, maybe next to Odom, but he just has trouble finishing at the rim due to his lead feet.

I think the guys are just standing around waiting for Kobe to put up a shot, not because they don’t think he’ll pass, but because by the time they make their move, Kobe is already into his jab-jab-launch routine. More than anything, I feel as if the lack of movement when Kobe has the ball in the post is miscommunication between the other 4 players and Kobe. They’re out of sync between when to cut and when Kobe plans to shoot, and this causes people to be out of position when the shot goes up. Remember, Tex Winter always says that shooting is a form of penetration, and so long as we have people in position to rebound, Kobe launching isn’t really as bad as it seems.

“Kobe’s a great player and probably the best offensive player out there and we understand that,” he said. “He’s aggressive and he’s competitive and we understand that that’s going to happen. But at the same time, we need to find that balance.

I think he might be referring to the 15 shots Kobe took in the 4th qtr alone!

So, if we executed properly (obviously that’s not always possible) we would be taking less 3pt attempts and they would be better looks than they are right now. Even if the 3pt % didn’t go up, we would still gain from it, since we would be missing LESS shots.

But the Lakers are who they are, and I guess that proper execution won’t come just by wishful thinking, so maybe Artest or Sasha will catch fire by playoff time…

Even last year it was our problem area. We’re a good mid-range team, not a good 3-point team.

In the last 2 Championship runs we’ve gotten lucky by having a wing player suddenly get hot from behind the arc.

In 2008 it was Sasha (who unfortunately went ice cold in against Boston).

In 2009 it was Ariza, who shot lights-out and WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY above his career average.

This year no player has caught fire, and we can only hope that we’ll be able to add the “yet” to that statement when reflecting on this part of the season next year. Unless Sasha comes back hot or Artest/Fisher/Famar suddenly finds their stroke at a consistent rate, we’re going to have a really rough go of it.

Someone asked why Mitch couldn’t see this as a problem, and I think the answer is simple. Mitch and Phil knew we got lucky with Ariza’s hot shooting last season. They upgraded the roster by adding Artest, who is a better 3-point shooter according to his track record, and better able to defend the bigger 3′s out there.

Someone needs to start finding the net from 3 though or we’re going to be lucky to relive 2004′s disappointment.