A collection of notes on this finals, the one 15 years ago, and other odds and ends:
• What may have cost the Lakers the 1991 finals against the Bulls? Mike Dunleavy doesn’t throw away his trash.
Phil Jackson said on his radio show he was handed Mike Dunlevey’s notes after game one (a Laker win), which were scribbled on pieces of paper then just thrown under the bench. Those notes led to changes, such as putting Pippen on Magic. Having the other team’s playbook helps. Having Michael Jordan probably helped a little too.
• I was asked this question in an email by one reader and I figured if he was wondering, others would be to: The Lakers cannot trade the last year of Brian Grant’s contract. I went to the source and asked Larry Coon (he of the NBA Salary Cap FAQ), and he reminded me that for the Lakers Grant is considered a waived player with a terminated contract (even though they are still paying it), meaning there is nothing to trade.
• Two games into the Finals, Erick Dampier is a series best +37.
• Dallas is doing a great job in two areas to frustrate Shaq: 1) making it very hard for him to get the ball by pressuring the passer; 2) giving him a lot of different looks, occasionally doubling with Nowitzki (meaning Shaq has to pass around two 7-footers) and a handful of other times from the weak side with smalls (by the way, Josh Howard is a great weakside defender). Also, they are doing good fronting of him in the post.
• Gatinho made a great point in the comments, even if he isn’t scoring Shaq is not grabbing a lot of boards or doing much else to really assert himself into the series. Three of Miami’s four best runs in game two came with Shaq on the bench.
• I tried to put myself in Pat Riley’s shoes and say “what adjustments would I make?†The problem is there aren’t a lot of adjustments to make, maybe some set plays to swing the ball to Shaq’s side more quickly therefore making it an easier entry pass, but the bottom line is they have to get the ball inside and Shaq has to be a threat for them to have any chance. They also should run Wade off a few more picks with him going right, his strength, because the Mavs are doing as good a job as you can forcing him left. The role players like Williams (-34 in two games), Walker, Posey and others must play better. For the Heat, it’s execution, not adjustments.
• I am taking part in a project called NBA GM Fix It, a new site where a few bloggers have been asked to write an offseason plan for thier team. The site starts today with some discussion of the Denver Nuggets, and we’ll be talking Lakers on Wednesday.
• Best team I saw over the weekend in the World Cup: Argentina. (I have the USA game Tivo’d to watch tonight.)
• About Jordan Farmar, it looks like little has changed — scouts that watched him in Orlando say he could use one more year in college, but he’s coming out now anyway. As much as I liked him in college, if I’m the Lakers I’m going another direction. From Orlando the reports were his defense was average and his offense spotty.
• I don’t get into politics on this site, but I will recommend that people learn about the “Net Neutrality†issue coming to a head soon in Congress. The issues can seem a little “inside the beltway†right now, but it very well can impact the Internet as we know it in a decade or so. The Bruinsnation blog does a good roundup, and there is no shortage of information out there for you to educate yourself on this, but it is not something to ignore.
• And here are a few good Laker jokes to brighten your mood. (Thanks to Henry at True Hoop for posting that.)
roastedpekingduck says
Going with the offseason thing, there’s currently a rumor going aroudn from ESPN that the Lakers are going to trade Odom and Mihm for Chris Duhon, Tyson Chandler, and the number 2 pick. Phil Jackson is also apparently calling for Andrew Bynum to be traded. I personally think those are really bad decisions on part of the Lakers if those rumors are true. What do y’all think?
Kurt says
‘Tis the wild rumor season.
Eric Pincus covers a lot of this in his column, but it is all speculation. There are a lot of rumors/names flying around this time of year, but most of them are a long way from reality. For example, the Andrew Bynum rumor comes out of Peter Vescey, who writes every little thing he hears (if a knick exec speculates that Phil wants Bynum gone, Vescey runs with it as fact).
I’d exect there to be few moves this offseason, with a trade of Odom being highly unlikely, both because of cost and how he started to fit in the triangle at the end of the year.
Kurt says
That said, outside of Kobe nobody on this roster is untouchable, I just want to win any trades we enter. The Odom/Mihm trade mentioned above does not strike me as a win.
ian says
I’m sorry but does anyone ever not want to win in the trades they enter into? I mean even isiah probably has some kinda rationalization behind his moves.
ian says
Also incase you haven’t religiously reading free darko
http://calvinch.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/2006/06/for_lakers_fans.html
Kurt says
Point taken, Ian. (Actually, I think Isiah could make the case he got more talent in each of those trades, it was just older, expensive talent on its way downhill.)
I guess what I was trying to say is I want a lot back in any trade, my threshold would be pretty high.
John R says
Weird, maybe Pincus stole that Odom trade from me.
A few posts ago someone said players aren’t stocks. But THEY ARE stocks. Sometimes their perceived value is more than actual, sometimes its less. Trade them when you can get more then they are worth. Right now Odom is an overvalued stock. Sell before he goes back on the reefer and becomes pets.com. Gordon (or Duhon) and Chandler (or Sweetney) for Odom/Mihm and a swap of picks is an absolute fleecing.
And I promise you in 10 months the Bulls will be the ones feeling screwed.
Signed-
The evil one.
roastedpekingduck says
John, how can you be sure that the person the Lakers draft is not a bust? Odom is a proven veteran. Drafting new players and trading new ones will require them to learn the Triangle, quite a hefty task. Gordon is a great player, but he doesn’t fit too well on the Lakers. He isn’t the best defender after all. Tyson Chandler just has no offensive game.
ian says
Chad Ford’s new mock draft has us taking miami’s diaz in the first round. Could be interesting but he seems a lot like Von wafer to me. I’ve only watched him in a handful of games so I really am unsure as to his suitability.
Xavier says
cant wait to see what the NBAGM fix says about our future…
i loved the Wade-Kobe-God story… im sure that if god exist, he think he’s Kobe
Kurt says
Ian, I’m a little concerned about Diaz and a couple others, not that I know much about them but I know Mitch’s affinity for skinny shooting guards who don’t play defense (Rush, Wafer). This year we maybe could use a shooter, but I hope Mitch puts defense first.
Draft Express, which I think is the best of the draft sites, has the Lakers taking Shannon Brown (and Justin Williams of Wyoming with the 51st pick, for what that’s worth).
ian says
The Daily Quickie on ESPN.com Page 2 is running with that Brazil-Yankees comparison.