Boxscore: Lakers 89, Bucks 100
Offensive Efficiency: Lakers 103.5, Bucks 116.3
True Shooting %: Lakers 51.9, Bucks 59.9
The Good:
There’s only so many times Kobe can appear in this space it be a good thing for the team. Sure, it’s great to have Kobe playing at a level that rivals his peak in his 16th season and after accumulating so many career minutes. But the fact that he continues to be the Lakers’ best player night after night is a bit of a concern considering the balance that’s needed for this team to be the best it can be.
But Mr. Bean certainly deserves the recognition as he was mostly splendid again, pouring in 27 points on 10-21 shooting while grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists. His 4 turnovers and 1-5 shooting from behind the arc were black spots on his night, but they were relatively minor transgressions on a night where he was clearly the Lakers’ best player while doing everything he could to carry his team to a win.
Kobe wasn’t alone in playing well, though. Andrew Goudelock put together his second straight solid game shooting 5-10 for 13 points. The rook was aggressive in looking for his shot, never lost confidence even though he missed his first couple of outside shots, and worked hard on defense (though he could still make some better decisions on that side of the floor). Derek Fisher also gave a solid performance, knocking down 3 of his 5 shots from the floor and mostly playing under control – a couple of bad decisions to attack the rim and a bad post entry pass that stood out not withstanding.
The Bad
A while back, I wrote that the Lakers had seemingly made defense a major part of their team identity. I wrote a glowing piece about them bringing their hardhats to work each night and building their success around getting stops. Where that mindset has gone is anyone’s guess but it’s certainly not been true lately and certainly wasn’t tonight.
The Lakers’ D allowed the Bucks to shoot 50% from the floor and gave up countless good looks to every member of the Bucks. The Lakers allowed dribble penetration too easily, didn’t hustle back in transition, and didn’t bother rotating to shooters with any consistency. The result was too many Bucks getting the shots they wanted on any given possession with the resulting good looks leading to made baskets, increased confidence, and then even more made shots.
All you need to do is explore the boxscore for countless examples. Drew Gooden outplayed both Pau and Bynum by scoring 23 points on 15 shots both from the post and from the perimeter when the Bucks went to their pick and pop sets. Mike Dunleavy hit 6 of his 8 shots for 15 points, making the Lakers wing defense look silly on several occasions. Ersan Ilyasova also scored 15 points by hitting 7 of his 9 shots with smart cuts off the ball and slipping into gaps in the Lakers perimeter defense to get wide open jumpers. I could go on but you probably get the point by now. The Lakers defense (especially Bynum and Pau) just didn’t do their job and allowed a Bucks team that normally struggles to score to find their stride.
Of course, you don’t lose simply because you play poorly on D. The Lakers offense was also quite poor on the evening especially when dealing with ball pressure. After the Lakers had success early in the game going into post, the Bucks picked up their defensive intensity, started to pressure the ball, and blew up the Lakers offense with a combination of active hands and quick feet. They rotated to shooters, cut off passing angles, and made the Lakers work for every shot. The result was Pau going 6-18 from the floor as he worked mostly from the elbow (though, even from the post his shot was off and bothered too easily as he hunted foul calls more than he did good shots).
The Ugly:
I could have included these two in the section above but thought Barnes and MWP’s lack of production deserve special recognition. The Lakers’ small forward duo combined to go 3-13 from the floor and couldn’t hit a jumper to save their lives. Their poor play on offense – even with Pau struggling – was a major factor tonight because it was often their man that roamed on D and doubled the ball when it went into the post.
Sadly, though, their play only highlights (again) the roster issues this team possesses. In season’s past, if the Lakers were having issues at SF, they’d slide Kobe up to forward and let the back up SG play next to him to form the Lakers wing attack. However, this year, the Lakers don’t have a viable back up SG and thus on nights where the SF isn’t producing, Kobe plays heavy minutes anyway but doesn’t get any support from a wing partner. The result tonight was Kobe playing 42 minutes, the Lakers still losing by 11 as MWP, Barnes, Ebanks, and Kapono played a total of 54 minutes but only contributing 8 points. On many nights this is the complaint of L.A.’s point guards, but it’s an issue with the small forwards lately too.
The Play of the Game:
In an effort to wipe this game from my memory, I have nothing to share here. Adding video, even of a Bucks play, would only allow this stinking to live with me for longer than I’d like.
Snoopy2006 says
So glad I chose to watch the X-Games instead of this. Their wipeouts were nothing compared to what happened in Milwaukee tonight.
Sounds like everyone was poor on defense, but I was going to ask how Goudelock looked. His box score line is obviously nice, but did he overdribble aimlessly the way Morris does, or look like a rookie on defense? I like his 1-TO line. If he can be efficient offensively and even passable defensively … well, we need all the positives we can get.
Warren Wee Lim says
Ugly game. No need to recap it.
Rudy says
This was from the last thread:
Lakerlord –
You are absolutely RIGHT! You’ve made the most intelligent post on this forum in a while. I am so tired of people saying we don’t get the ball to our bigs in the post enough. They are flat out overrated. Drew Gooden punked our bigs. When you’re playing against defenders shorter and smaller than you, it shouldn’t be that hard to score.
As for the rest of this season I have absolutely no more confidence in this team as currently constructed. We have no chance to beat good teams on the road. And judging how this game was, any team with a big man that can shoot is going to give us major problems. Our bigs flat out cannot move their feet well enough.
I think this Minnesota game is going to be similar to the Detroit game in 2007 when after we lost we ended up getting Gasol the next day. I can only hope.
Kevin says
The most disapointing thing about tonight was after the effort they gave last game it just wasn’t there tonight. After 2 days off I thought Pau would continue his aspiring play. i thought Drew would have fresh legs and dominate the paint.
Every time Lakers take a step forward they take 3 steps back. Kobe was giving guys every chance in the 1st half to impose there will on the game and they couldn’t do it. So he had to force things play superman anad that won’t work with this team.
Bynum and Artest have step up they aren’t playing well
robinred says
Darius hits on a key point indirectly here: Kobe is the team’s only 2, its best 1, and its best 3. His line tonight:
42 minutes
10/21 FG
8 rebs
9 assists
Demonstrates this reality very well. Goudelock and Fisher did what they can–but they are not guys who can break down a D or disrupt an opposing 1 on D. Barnes and MWP are 15-20 minute a game guys at best–inconsistent players with many weaknesses. Ebanks might be OK if he had Trevor Ariza’s job on the stacked 2009 Lakers; on this team, he mostly looks lost.
Kevin says
Mike Brown needs to get his rotation together. Pick 8-10 guys and stick with it. Don’t worry about hurting someone’s feelings.
That’s what PJ was so good at you knew where you stood, how much PT you would get and what the rotation was.
Brown should let 8 guys get continuity together then fill in the gaps. Can’t build chemistry without consistency
SwiperTheFox says
Did Kupchak give Mike Brown a six year coaching contract like Luke?
Tra says
No Bogut .. No Jackson .. An average game from Jennings .. Coming off a solid, should have been momentum building victory over the Clippers .. On two days of rest .. Up against a team with a losing record that played the night before ..
Damn the Miami game. Damn the Orlando game and also the Portland game from earlier in the season. This is the worse loss of this campaign thusfar.
Kevin says
Last thing, Pau and Bynum said Lakers got pushed around and they were the guys getting pushed around. They have no heart and are soft. Celtics have KG as an enforcer, Thunder have Perk, Heat have Anthony, Bulls have Noah. Those guys don’t get pushed around they push back they hold the paint down for their respective teams. We don’t have one of those guys. Obviously D12 would be that guy 4 us.
Scott says
robinred–Your mention of the 2009 Lakers team as “stacked” got me thinking as to how the Lakers arrived at their current condition. I recall the 2009 team as solid, but with a weak bench that routinely blew leads. PJ relied heavily on his starters as a result, if you count LO as a starter (which he always has been in reality).
I’m not complaining, because the “Starting 6” got us 3 straight trips to the Finals. However, it also resulted in a top-heavy team, with salaries to match. Now LO is gone, Gasol looks gassed, Artest transformed into the odd being known as MWP, we’re realizing Bynum is never going to be the player we hoped for, and DFish’s inadequacies can no longer be masked by the Triangle. The Lakers never really had a good bench since 2009, but it’s really being unmasked now that the starters can no longer carry games on their own.
I have no idea how this can be fixed. Getting Howard won’t solve it, but will actually make the Lakers thinner. We’ve turned into the West Coast version of the Knicks. Oh well, at least we’ve got some Rings to show for it.
Ken says
Reality guys. This is a .500 team as a said before the season started and brown is the wrong coach for this team.
Bucks are well coached, undermanned and played last night. Teams adjust their defense and Brown is clueless to counter.
A doubt of FO will admit their mistake. Remember Walton is still here and Fisher is our starter. Worst offensive team in years with the worst bench in tbe league and the last rated PG sounds more like Washington not the Lakers.
Things sure change fast when you don’t know what your doing. Read the Peter Principle about rising to the point of incompetence and see Jim Buss picture on the cover.
kaos says
The past week has been truly difficult to watch with so many negatives and so few positives. Despite it all I still maintain that the roster isn’t as bad as some are making it out to be and much of the oft repeated issues we do have can be cured via free agents currently available and the TPE. The problem is that the FO has its hands tied until the Dwight Howard situation is resolved leaving us between a rock and a hard place in this regard.
I’ve felt since the start of training camp that it would unfair to judge this team prior to the all star break given the magnitude of the changes and the effects of the lockout and am even more convinced of it now. This isn’t to say I am in any way excusing the recent play; like many I am increasing frustrated at the lack of offensive improvement, though I do see a concerted effort to feed the bigs, something that has not yielded results so far but is critical long term. Further, there are still too many iso sets and a general lack of off ball movement but what’s far more troubling IMO is our defensive regression. Blame it on fatigue, injuries, whatever but the team is not playing with the intensity we saw early in the season and that is my biggest concern. Simply put, the effort is not there on a night in night out basis and that ultimately leads me to believe that the bulk of our problems are mental and chemistry related.
Kevin – I think you hit the nail on the head, before we can see sustained improvement, MB has to settle on his rotation so the team can build some familiarity and begin anticipating rather than reacting on offense. Give him some credit though, experimenting with lineups has shown Goudelock may be able to contribute off the bench, a much needed and very welcome surprise.
drrayeye says
Kobe Bryant: 27-8-9. He was “clearly the Lakers’ best player while doing everything he could to carry his team to a win.”
Spin: Kobe is getting close to a triple double and we talk about “his” team rather than the Laker team.
Sound familiar? Doesn’t it sound a lot like those Cleveland years with the master enabler–coach Brown: “if only we could surround him with some complementary talent . . .”
Trade after trade, the revolving door–but the result stayed the same, didn’t it?
We can go back to that 1957 NCAA championship game when Kansas lost, despite having Wilt Chamberlain–the best college basketball player in the history of the game at the time. In 1965, Bill Bradley led his four Princeton “cheerleaders” to the semifinal game–until they were defeated by Cazzie Russell and Michigan. Michigan, with a much bigger team and a true superstar was beaten for the NCAA championship by a little noname UCLA team that knew how to run the fast break.
The next year, UCLA got to use it’s freshman talent–and the rest is history (and Kareem is still around).
We could go on–and on–and on, but the principle is clear. . . . . a single superstar dominated team is doomed, and true teams can win even without a superstar.
Has the curse of Labron been transferred to Kobe?
Warren Wee Lim says
And for what its worth, I hope we lose tomorrow too.
Ken says
Agreed. The only way the FO will put down the bottle long enough to do something is we keep losing and people start trading 3 Laker ticket for 1 Cipper tic.
ie: See Los Angeles and Frank Mcduck for a reference.
This team is worse then even I thought. Hello earth to Dr. Buss us there a real Doctor in tbe house?
jimboslice says
Very sad to see.
The Lakers lost key pieces in Odom and Brown, but they should not be a .500 team, which is the best they could hope for after the road trip.
Dave M says
Haha, last line of this post is great.
Jaybird says
At this point I wouldn’t even mind if Luke Walton gets PT at the 3 spot.
Snoopy2006 says
5 – To be fair, Kobe would probably be this team’s best 3 unless we signed Lebron or Durant. But I agree with the general point.
tviper says
I think most Laker fans were unpleasantly surprised when Brown was announced as the coach. He hasn’t really done much to change minds at this stage. It is getting really tiring to hear excuses related to the compressed schedule, etc. If the FO wants a defensive team, then get defensive minded players (cough, Dwight, cough). Delaying moves at this point is counterproductive.
BigCitySid says
Very, very disappointed. Lots of blame to go around in this latest loss, pushing their road record to 1-7. 7 of the next 8 will also be on the road, including 6 straight in 10 days. There is no reason to believe the Lakers will will play .500 ball on this trip, regardless of the opponents, not after that display in Milwaukee. This has the potential to get very ugly. I’ve lost all hope of the Lakers finishing anywhere near .500 on the road this season.
Bynum needs to step up the energy level. The Lakers have almost completed a 1/3 of their season. Believe me, I’m so happy A.B. is healthy, and showing flashes of being an All-Star, but where’s the energy. His rebound numbers aren’t bad, but it seems he rarely fights for the “extra” rebounds. Is his conditioning still an issue?
KL says
Actually, I didn’t like the effort they gave. Correct me if I’m wrong but the game demonstrated the unfamiliarity of the lakers playbook. Kobe passed to no one during the first half. I think just more practice will help the team fix it kinks. Kobe was right about how the curve should be shortened.
Guys, patience. Laker fans are used to winning all the time but losing makes a win more valuable and fulfilling. The up and down ride is what makes the game so sweet. I believe that mike brown will help the lakers in the long run. Better play your A game during the playoffs than maximizing wins by playing with just limited information on your team.
Robert says
Ken/Warren: I understand why u are saying u want us to lose, but trust me, we do not want that. I am no big fan of Mitch but trust me, he knows the deal. He tried to fix it with CP3 and he got stopped. He is now trying to fix it with D12 (he should have done it pre-season like I wanted), and us looking horrible and the tradeable players looking weak does not help that. The only good news we have is that the Magic are also in disarray.
Robert says
KL @20: You used the dreaded “p” word. We have been hearing that since pre-season, and patience has clearly not been the correct course to date.
When talking about these things it is important to know the perspective. Some people are content without the Lakers being a frontrunner. It is OK for them, if the Lakers aren’t title contenders as long as they try to do their best and reach their potential. I respect that, however, that is not my perspective. I want titles and If we realize we can’t achieve that, then we should put a plan in place to get back to that point, and if that means blowing it up, then so be it. I believe the Lakers FO has always had this perspective, and I still believe they do. Being “competitive”, and being one of 10 teams who might win it this year, is not good enough. We need to be one of the top 2-3 teams to have any realistic chance. When you have our payroll, you must be a title contender or you are in a bad limbo state (no banners and no future). The D12 plan is very flawed I admit, however I will cling to it, because I realize that w/o that plan (or something else dramatic), the next big discussion on this board will be: “Should we blow it up?” I do not look forward to that.
Darius Soriano says
#13. I used almost that same exact language when talking about Fisher’s game against the Mavericks. Actually, here is the line:
“He didn’t quite take over like it was game 3 of the 2010 Finals, but he put his imprint on the game and led his team to a win.”
I didn’t hear talk of “spin” from you at that point.
Gilberto says
Dwight won’t help. We need D Will. We lack speed and reliable outside scoring. Agent Zero?
Ken says
Robert
I repect your insights as they are always well though out. But! The business I am in allows be to spend time with former NBA players. I often sponsor some of the retired player assoc. events. None I speak to consider this team a top 10 team. Smoking cigars with one yesterday he felt they very well will not make the playoffs!
If you look at the teams above us in tbe West who are we better then? Our bench us last in the NBA in scoring, our point guard is last in tbe NBA in mist categories, our two small forwards are last in the NBA in scoring and shooting and our coach is confused.
Kobe is top 5, Pau top 10 PF, right now Andrew is 6th or 7th. Andrew is clearly lazy and barily runs down court often.
This team today is a.500 team which makes it 15th in the NBA. Sad but this us reality. Losing LO and Brown meant losing all our scoring and athletics off the bench. My 7 year old knew with a short season and compacted games you needed to strengthen not implode the bench.
Leaving junk lime Metta Mess and Walton and adding slow, unwanted player was asking for the current reality. Management gave up, quit, whimpered away into the night when the Paul deal fell apart. In business if you have no plan B then you deserve to fail. And fail we are!
It is what it is. With bad contracts and the CBA looming, Kobe’s last three years will be scoring, losing and a unhealthy dose of win at home lose on the road. We have become like the Suns with a great player and false hope put out by the media and front office.
Don’t be shocked if there is a change in ownership the next few years. Two billion dollar price tag on the Dodgers has some Laker heads turning. In the mean time just try to enjoy our .500 team and the great Kobe.
Ken says
Outstanding post Dr reyeye!
Further evidence need only look at Denver. Superstar gone, team way better. Denver would beat the Lakers 7 out of 10 times with a payroll half of ours.
Smart coaching, team play, a bench and hustle. None of the above applies to the Lakers.
Brown is the WRONG coach for this team, and I use the word team loosely.
Andy says
When there is a problem, one has to look for the source. In this case, the Lakers problem is coach MB. He is incapable of inspiring players to play creatively with instincts. Brown has to go, but the management won’t do it. So the Lakers will suffer for at least two years. This may sound depressing, but I am afraid this is a reality.
I don’t think the team will improve much even if we get Howard. The coach is no good. I still can’t believe the Lakers picked Brown. This is insane.
Ken says
Andy
I can solve all our Laker problems?
Fire Brown as head coach and make him defensive ass’t coach.
Ask Fisher to retire and make him head coach.
Entire deal costs FO no extra and you get a coach who know the old system, Fisher of the floor and players respect.
Now on to solving problems in Europe!
Robert says
Guys: MB is no PJ or Pat Riley, but again, let’s not lose sight of the real issue: Roster. I agree that MB is not getting results, and the team is forelorn. However, even if he were doing it all correctly, we are still not a contender due to the roster. What about DF, MWP, LW, etc.? Coaching can’t fix that. Darius and I discussed this earlier, and changing rotations, and offenses is like re-arranging deckchairs on a sinking ship. It might take us up a couple notches in the standings, but not even PJ could make contenders of this roster.
drrayeye says
(25) Darius,
Sorry. I should have said “apparent significance” rather than “spin.” I was trying to illustrate how Kobe was being set up.
After all, under this system, he gets his numbers every night–the rebounds/assists protect him from being called a “ballhog” or selfish. He’s “doing his best to carry the team.”
If I hadn’t seen it all before with Labron, I might have almost believed it.
Rudy says
Ken-
You actually think another coach can turn this around? Phil Jackson just got swept out of the playoffs last year with the players you said we shouldn’t have lost (Brown & LO).
We don’t have a coach or a system problem, we have a lack of talent problem. No coach or system is going to fix this. We need to make a move. But we also have to face the fact that the Lakers wouldn’t dare wave Fisher and World Peace is going to have to stay on our roster because it makes no sense to pay him for nothing.
Our bigs have to go for us to improve this team.
Kevin says
Let’s face it Lakers are rebuilding this year almost seems like a throw away year to see what we have and who stays and who goes. Kind of like how Byron Scott is in Clevelabd I think Mike Brown is in his same position the transition coach for this process.
What many people have said is Jim Buss is running things now and he’s not off to a good start. However, Ronnie Lester gone, alot of other staff many LA writers, bloggers, columnists have talked about before it obvious Jim Buss is running things now. The triangle gone, PJ gone Lakers are pretty much starting over this decade. As hard as it is to say barring some miracle turnaround or transactions this era is over. At least we had 16 years of having a 10 player ever.
I’m pretty sure theses 11-12 Lakers will not look the same come next year. Here’s what I think’ll happen. The ultimate armaggedon Lakers trade Pau, then don’t pick-up Drew’s option and like many of you have said they amnesty Kobe to start from scratch. Then Kobe and PJ are a package deal to NY.
This is 04 all over again except we’ll have no Kobe.
exhelodrvr says
10) Scott,
Realistically, I don’t think you can “fix” this roster, and it would be best to start the rebuilding process. But realistically, I don’t think the front office will do that.
robinred says
I think Brown’s weaknesses that we saw in the 2010 Eastern Semis against Boston…
lack of creativity on O
flailing around looking for a hot hand
excessive reliance on the star
…have been on display, and I think that Brown is probably one of those guys who is better at the interview than at the job.
That said, any evaluation of Jim Buss and Mike Brown has to account for Stern. It is possible, absent the veto, that the Lakers really would have Dwight Howard and Chris Paul right now, and in that case Brown’s lack of offensive creativity would be mostly insignificant, and people would be calling Jim Buss a genius.
Buss has already made mistakes–Kapono, Odom, maybe Murphy–and Brown has flaws. But we simply need to wait and see what the FO does with the roster in general and the TPE in particular, and then we need to see Brown coach that roster, before we give them failing grades.
For the record, I said at the time that I would have preferred Adelman or Shaw, but I am not ready to write Brown or Buss off just yet.
robinred says
exhelo,
That is not an unreasonable position for “basketball reasons”, but the reality is that any serious, full-scale reboot means using the Amnesty Clause on Kobe. And I can certainly see why the FO would not do that, at least not until after the 2013 season.
alex v. says
New coach, no preseason, key players dealing with declining skills, aborted, team-restructuring trade, then gave away best glue guy for nothing. And the idea of more trades is still in play. Wouldn’t it be more surprising if this team *didn’t* have chemistry issues?
Michael H says
I can’t blame Mike Brown for our woes. He doesn’t have the roster nor the time to set his system and rotations.
I can’t blame the FO because they made an attempt at a blockbuster trade.
I can’t even blame the players. The only guy not looking over his shoulder is Kobe. Everyone else realizes they could be traded or dumped at any moment. You can say but thy are professionals, yes. but they are also human.
Personally I blame the NBA. I do believe the Clipper Deal was better for a rebuilding team but the way it was handled killed the chemistry of this team. Del Demps never should have been told that he could make independent trades. The trade should have been brought to Stern BEFORE being announced. Axing that trade psychologically has killed this team.
So what can be done? The front office has to find the moves to improve this team as soon as possible. If that means over paying for Howard(something I’m not in favor of) so be it. If it’s just small moves, fine. We just can not go through the season with a sword hanging over the heads of the entire roster. Make some moves and then say, this our team for the rest of the year. We can’t let the uncertainty linger until the trade deadline. Or we could find ourselves not only out of contention but out of the playoffs all together.
Robert says
It appears as though the board has moved from unfounded “it will OK” optimism, to complete “it is hopeless” pessimism. Some of us have never been at either extreme.
robinred says
do believe the Clipper Deal was better for a rebuilding team but the way it was handled killed the chemistry of this team.
___
Agreed, and I would add as I have said that Stern did it in large part to save the perception of the CBA and to please the owners.
robinred says
Good post by Michael H.
Darius Soriano says
I agree, good post by Michael H.
exhelodrvr says
39) robinred,
I agree. Kobe is not worth the money, relative to what it could be used for, but I don’t think that they would to that. Combination of pride and PR.
Robert says
And people are talking about the “blow it up” scenario even sooner than I thought. If you were an optimist, especially within the last 2 days, then at least pause for a moment at “what can be done?”, before you go into full panic mode. Some of us have been at the “what can be done?” stage for months, and this flip flopping is worse than politics.
robinred says
exhelo,
Well, Kobe is probably not worth the money ON the floor (although he is still a great player) but we always need to remember that the Buss Family isn’t Mark Cuban or Paul Allen–they run the Lakers as a primary family business. If they traded Pau for expirings, amnestied Kobe, and then hit the reset button with a new team built around Bynum, merchandising, tickets, etc–all those sources of revenues would drop like a rock, and the Clippers would be the team in town with all the star power. And as you know, the Lakers pay Kobe for his full deal (as they should of course, it is a signed contract) either way.
So, it might be the right move for the Lakers for “basketball reasons” but it hard for me to see it from a business POV, at least until July of 2013.
Robert says
If u are going to compare KB’s $ to the Heat duo, than u would draw ur conclusion. However using that logic, we shoud have KB plus 2 others in the top 15 of the league (PG + AB). The travesty is that some on this board actually have claimed that they were that good. If we really have 3 players worthy of those salaries, we could have mutiple minimums filling out the roster and be fine. We don’t because we have 1 star and two wannabees making superstar salaries. I will trade this for 2 real stars any day.
Kevin says
Regardless of the Stern nix trade this should not be a 11-9 team. Every team had to deal with the shortened season. Lakers should be able to get to 100 pts. let alone 90. 12 straight games under 100. Some teams score 100 on accident. Brown has to do a better job coaching and fixing rotations. Sometimes he calls the same plays 5 times in a row. After the 3rd time a defense knows how to defend it. For so long structure and stability has been a fixture for the Lakers. Now it seems everything is falling apart.
Ken says
In response to Keith.
Problem going back 6 years is between Jimmy B and Mitch. One of the reasonsWest parted. Jimmy wants it his way and it started with his foot stamping demand to draft Andrew. Jimmy also wanted Brown so he could be rid of the old guard. Mitch, like Kobe wanted Shaw who was promised the job.
It plan and clear that Mitch will be gone and jimmy will put in another yes man like Brown.
This a a power thing and as long as Jerry owns the team you know who will win.
Now you know why my sources say the Lakers may be considering selling. 2 billion for Dodgers, new cable contract starting next year and clearly a declining team with several bad multi-year contracts???. Due the math, as Lakers last week were named NBA’s most valuable franchise.
Someday you all will start trusting my information.
Robert says
Ken: We have been on the same side of many issues. I have been pessimistic on much, but I do have “my dream”, which I realize you do not fully share. Please give me (us) a ray of hope, with your “dream” for what we can do to salvage this. (and it must be at least feasible – otherwise u will not be giving me hope : )
Ken says
Only hope as I see it is do a deal with Suns for right for Brooks by April and hope we are not buried by then.
Hope two is that Orlando keeps losing and Andrew has some big games so we can package Andrew, trade exception and draft plus our garbage for Nelson and Dwight.
That one is a long shot because AB and Brown are Jimmy only two guys he fought for and he can’t see the forest through the trees.
Cdog says
Keith – Rasheed is washed up. I’m not exactly sure what he brings – but for a team that is good for it’s athleticism and speed, adding a now slow/old guy who only tries in half the games he plays in won’t be that much of a positive effect.
Kenyon may be a good addition – but it could also hurt the clips. The refs don’t respect him, and if he yaps the way he did in Denver, it will negatively affect the flopper calls that Blake and CP3 are so good at getting.
And I’d rather know that we can beat good teams, than always beat only bad teams.
Does somebody want to wake up Andrew Bynum please – he’s not playing like the 2nd best center in the league. Aside from his first four game start, suffice it to say he’s far less valuable than, Noah, Nene, Hibbert, Bogut, Chandler, and Perkins.
At the end of the day, effort does matter, and I can tell sometimes he just doesn’t play hard. His go to move is the spin for the lob, but multiple times in a game he does in when the guards don’t have the angle to pass. And then he pouts for the rest of the play cuz he didn’t get a lob.
Ken says
FYI I will be seeing Swen Nater next Tuesday( darn good center in his time and league rebound leader a few years) who is coming down from Washington and I will ask his thoughts on Andrew and if he feels the guy will ever be more, after 6 years then he is today.
Let you know.
milesaugust says
Right on, Drrayeye, I’m not a Kobe hater, far from it, but the Lakers have gotten so far away from a team oriented offense (anyone else screaming “pass the ball” to Kobe, Bynum, and Metta?), that it’s hard to watch.
Time to bring in Coach Norman Dale.
Thought they’d win last night, and lose to the T-Wolves, hopefully I just got it reversed.
Typical Kobe, sees Goudelock shooting one handed runners, has to show how he can do it better.
Chearn says
Brown is not the problem! PJ had trouble motivating Pau and Bynum for two years. So, why is Brown supposed to come in, and in 3-4 weeks without practice get something out of Pau and Bynum? Let’s face it, these two guys need a change of scenery to invigorate themselves.
As an unpaid and unknown member of management, I thought the Lakers would have gotten a point guard prior to going on this extended road trip. Gilbert Arenas has been available since Steve Blake went down with an injury, yet no move towards him was made. Many on this site, think that GA is not an answer for the Lakers, well I am sure that everyone agrees that he cannot do damage to this team. No more than has already been done.
McHops is a good energy player, however he does not have any offense other than a lob dunk and on defense he is not instinctive. There is no point in putting Kapono in the game if no one sets a screen for him to get off a 3-pt shot.
Goudeloch and Morris are going to trade off on playing time the rest of the season, because they will be inconsistent and hit the rookie wall. Thus is the life of rookies.
Warren said it best, the Lakers need to lose this game also, in order to understand that changes need to be made.
Darius Soriano says
Due to some technical issues, a preview won’t be up until right around game time. If ya’ll want to start talking ‘Wolves, go ahead.
Kevin says
Tonight vs Wolves I expect nothing more than what they’ve shown us thus far. MEDIOCRITY.
Adelman will outclass brown tonight. And Bynum’s stock will continue to drop. Maybe Kobe gets 50 and saves the day
Robert says
NOT the 2nd best center: Keith: Where were u a few weeks ago, when people were treating Bynum like they treated internet stocks in 1999? : )
Mitch: I am not a big fan, but if there is truth to that rumor – that is very – very bad.
Cdog says
Keith – Don’t try to parse my words incorrectly. You claim that you would ONLY want to be able to beat the teams we are better than. From my perspective, a win over the Clippers is more valuable than a win over the Bucks in the long term. 1 it gives confidence to the team. 2, it shows what the team needs to do to play at the level of other playoff teams.
The Lakers aren’t going to win every game, no matter how good they are. And of course you need to get those “easy” wins to make it into the playoffs.
But if you go into the playoffs never having beaten one of the good teams, I’m not exactly sure how you can expect/hope to beat those teams then.
And I tend to disagree that you would ever want a player who is slow, out of shape, but occasionally can make a post play. CP3 feeds off speed. Blake feeds of speed. At the end of the day, bringing in a slower guy against good teams doesn’t mess the good teams up, it just allows them to be more athletic than you and be able to make the more athletic play. If this was the Rasheed of even 5 years ago, then that would be a nasty pickup. But the dude’s been out a year, and wasn’t any good in his last year with the C’s.
The Lakers want athletes because we plain and simple don’t have any. And no matter what “systems” they put into place, if the players on the other team are faster/more energetic/better, than the Lakers are at a disadvantage on any given possession. That doesn’t make the games unwinnable, but it certainly makes it a heck of a lot harder.
Darius Soriano says
I’m working on the preview now, but wanted to chime in and note that I think it’s ridiculous that some would rather have the Lakers lose – for whatever reason – than rather them win and try to be the best team they can be. Makes me feel that fans would rather be right about what they believe (that the team isn’t good enough is the typical reason) than be proven wrong by the team achieving more than they think is possible.
Also, I’m not sure why fans would think that management can’t see some of the same things that fans see – as if fans are the smart ones and management is a bunch of idiots that can’t get anything right. As if your armchair GM’ing should be the approach of the team and because management doesn’t live in front of the cameras to soothe all your heated anger about the team they somehow shouldn’t be relied upon or trusted to make some of the moves that need to be made. It’s not like this team has been stuck in the mud for a decade or hasn’t won anything.
Robert says
Excellent post Darius. We need a Win badly.
We also need AB to play well, which helps any version of Laker future you may wish for.
lil' pau says
Darius is right. To add to his point, the vetoed LO/Pau for CP3 trade looks even better in light of what we’ve seen so far this season from Pau and our shortcomings at PG. Lost among the all the hysteria at the veto is the idea that Mitch succeeded in addressing our biggest need while selling high (Pau’s value today is certainly not what it was on opening day). He made even a more prescient play that we realized at the time.
I’m getting a little weary of the criticism of Mitch here– MWP was given extra years as compensation for taking a paycut. That was a good contract; he’s just failed to be as engaged as he’s been in the past (let’s see if that’s true when he has to be The Man on D against someone like Pierce or Durant). I still believe LO’s TPE should be worth more than LO, if used correctly. The long Luke contract was a bizarre mistake (I don’t remember any real rivals for Walton at the time), but that’s not why we’re losing.
If you believe, as I do, that we’d be a contending team with Paul, then how can you blame Mitch?
Michael H says
Aloha Darius,
Great point on management. I am sure Mitch knows what are problems are. Being able to fix them at this moment may not be possible. You can’t make a trade unless you have a trading partner to trade with.
I am sure the condensed season is one of the problems in making any deals right now. Teams are still trying to figure out what they have and what direction they want to go.
If you look around there haven’t been many trades yet. Even the Grizzlies and Hawks lost key big men for what maybe the season and neither have obtained replacements. And they are both playoff hopefuls.
Chearn says
MWP should make an appearance as a starter for the first time this season. By starting MWP knows full well that he is not in the lineup for his offensive prowess, but for his defensive acumen.
This team is hard to gauge, because from one game to the next the needs of this particular unit of players, vacillates. One game the Lakers need offense and the next game they need defense.
BTW, when I say that I want the Lakers to lose, I am hoping that they prove me wrong, and win. If they win, I am happy. If they lose, then I have no expectations.
I hope Goudeloch has a 3rd outing with double digits.
MB does not have a set rotation due to him still learning what to expect from the players. And as we have all noted. None of us know what to expect from the team, save for Kobe.
sT says
I never thought about it quite like this, but I believe at one time it was drrayeye, who talked about how the GM’s are handling multi-million dollar assets for these teams. This is not a game where you can just put the board and pieces away after playing with some friends. These contracts are guaranteed for a certain amount of time, and the Lakers were already deep into many of them before the season started. I would hope that if they can improve this year they would do so, but the losses are adding up.
robinred says
Actually, the Grizzlies got Speights and Cunningham to replace Randolph and Arthur–pretty good patch job on the fly.
Glove says
MWP is starting tonight
exhelodrvr says
48) robinred,
‘they run the Lakers as a primary family business.”
I’m not sure if that’s the case with Jim Buss.
Darius Soriano says
The game preview is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2012/01/29/preview-chat-the-minnesota-timberwolves-8/