Box Score: Lakers 85, Knicks 92
Offensive Efficiency: Lakers 90.4, Knicks 97.9
True Shooting %: Lakers 50.0%, Knicks 54.5%
The Good:
I’m trying here, guys.
There were just a few stretches where you could say, “Okay, maybe the Lakers are going to be okay.” Pau Gasol (16 points) had a nice second quarter with 8 points but he got in foul trouble early in the 3rd. In desperation, Kobe Bryant (34 points) is second to none in terms of trying to rally his team back one-on-five.
Off the bench, Matt Barnes played a quiet good game with 11 points (5 for 6 shooting) and 6 boards.
I’m just grasping on straws here, aren’t I?
The Bad:
The Lakers looked like a tired team that just played an overtime game the night before (wait a minute). The porous shooting continues. 37.5 percent for the game.
At one point in the 3rd quarter, the Knicks were playing sloppily and the Lakers didn’t take advantage. Derek Fisher kept shooting the worst shots (foot on the line). Andrew Bynum looked tired/lazy out there (maybe it was because of the Knicks defense… but he only ended up with 3 points). Kobe Bryant started out 1 for 11 (before finishing with 11 for 29). Metta World Peace was definitely not living up to his name as he lost his composure. The bench (other than Barnes) once again failed to give them that lift. Steve Blake did a decent job defending that Knick guard that I will talk about in a bit but he shot 2 for 11 (1 for 8 behind the arc).
The Lakers left the Knicks open behind the arc but they were lucky that the Knicks only shot 5 for 21.
The Lakers turned the ball over often early. They ended up with 17 giveaways in the game.
Okay. Maybe he was underestimated but no one thought (well, maybe his parents did) that Jeremy Lin would explode for 38 points. They did the right thing initially by letting him shoot jumpers and getting physical with him. But they never did try to get the ball out of his hands. The Knick offense looked a bit more discombobulated with Lin not on the floor. Maybe it was magic or maybe he really is that friggin’ good of a basketball player… but Jeremy Lin was spectacular against the Lakers (NOBODY could stop him!). It’s a wonderful story and, even though I root for the Lakers, it is so nice to see someone like Jeremy Lin beat the odds and play out of his mind after he got a chance. I just hated that he did it against the Lakers.
The Ugly:
The Lakers fouled 29 times in the game. That’s almost like a dead giveaway of tired legs or lazy defense. But they sure couldn’t stop Jeremy Lin from getting into the paint. That gave the Knicks 11 more freethrows than L.A. and the margin of victory would’ve been larger had the Knicks made their freethrows (21 for 34).
The Play Of The Game:
I seriously had to think about this one. Remember that the Lakers never led in the game.
I’m going to have to go with Kobe’s difficult turnaround against Landry Fields with 5:26 left in the third. That was his second field goal of the game and he would go on to make four of his next five shots that put the Lakers within reach.
Unfortunately, Kobe had little help once again and the Lakers fell short as they continue to Jekyll and Hyde through the season.
It really is hard to find a balance for this Laker team. It’s a catch-22. Sometimes, they need Kobe to score 45 in a game. But yet people will clamor for Kobe to pass the ball inside. Sometimes, they need the bigs to have the ball. But yet people will clamor for Kobe to shoot more. It’s a no-win situation unless they win the game.
The Lakers face the Raptors on Sunday afternoon. You know how well they do on Sunday afternoon games. For all I know, the Lakers will go .500 the rest of the way as they beat powerhouse teams like Oklahoma City and lose to weak teams like New Orleans.
In short, this season has been frustrating for the Lakers. But, of course, you already knew that.
Ken says
Perhaps you should consider adding Fisher’s no defense and Metta’s embarrassing 0 points 4 fouls, dropped balls, bad passes and acting likeva thug out there in your bad column.
Clearly Metta and Andrew were not in their rooms sleeping last night.
That’s my bad column.
Dave M says
Absolutely, Rey – there is so definitely a lack of balance. I may not like Coach Brown’s rotations all the time but the bench guys need to find their energy and purpose again. Earlier in the season, they were bringing it. Big game, big venue tonight – they should have stirred it up.
Paul L says
Wow what a change from the tone on here after last night’s win. Plenty of blame to go around right now all the way from Jimmy down to Fish. I feel terrible for Kobe. I can only imagine how frustrated he must be after not being consulted about Brown’s hiring then veto gate followed by giving away Odom and now having to live through this nightmare of a season.
Ken says
I feel sorry for Kobe but then again he makes over $29 million a year so not that sorry.
Feel worse that Fisher and Metta are our starters.
Edwin Gueco says
2,
Paul, you can’t help it but to complain on terrible showing. It is OK if we lost the game fighting. It is just a terrible show of effort and mike Brown can’t do anything after 27 games. The only reason why we are above .500 is because of the Big 3 whom lakers are investing 59M for nothing. Why invest that much if you are not willing to put a good supporting cast from players to premier Coaching.
Magic Phil says
Lin is a flaw. Bad moves all 1st quarter and 1/2 of the 2nd.
But eventually, even my grandmother would have pass through Lakers D and Fish.
Thomas says
I am pretty psycho when it comes to being a Lakers fan. I hate opposing players and opposing teams. Period.
But when it comes to Jeremy Lin, I gotta say I am happy for the kid. I spent about 4 hours yesterday watching highlights from his last 4 games, starting with him being put in for a few minutes against Boston and then the explosion against the Nets when he got quality minutes and just went off.
You could just see in the Boston game how dysfunctional the Knicks were. When Lin came in they were still terrible, but you could see little sparks where for a second or two Lin would do something right and the Knicks would almost not suck. The announcers as it happened saw it, and in the blogs everyone agreed he needed more time.
When he was put in against the Nets the little sparks slowly started to blend together and you could see the whole thing start to snowball in real time. Tyson Chandler, especially, bought in early and hard and started working a beautiful two man game with Lin. Against the Nets it was enough to win.
In the Utah game you could really see Lin start to settle down. He had a ton of turnovers like he did tonight but you could just watch his confidence grow by the possession.
Against Washington he was slick as hell. He really was orchestrating the hell out of that offense and by then it looked like everyone playing (Stoudemire and Melo obviously aren’t) had bought in completely to Jeremy Lin being the leader on the floor.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that 4 game sequence in my life. I don’t think Lin is a super hero or that he can keep this up for ever. But I do think he is a totally legit starting point guard and he might even turn out to be an All Star level talent.
But regardless of what the future holds, his personal story is just plain inspirational. I honestly told my friends today that I hoped that he kept playing well even if the Knicks ended up beating my Lakers.
So he did. And they did. And now I’m ready to start hating them all again.
Funky Chicken says
Bill Plashcke, who is almost always wrong, had it right in today’s Times: a lot of professional athletes don’t care about winning as much as the fans.
Tonight was embarrassing. Everyone sucked, even Kobe (11-29 sucks). Moreover, it now appears pretty clear that Mike Brown sucks. His offensive “system” (such as it is) is awful, and his rotations are laughable. Against an old and slow team with a physically strong SF like Boston, MWP has a clear role. Against a small and quick team, on the road, on the 2nd night of a back to back and Ebanks gets zero minutes? Again? Totally indefensible.
Lin obviously stole the show, but let’s put in into context: he dominated the worst PG rotation in the league and against a coach who didn’t think to double him to force the ball out of his hands.
Then again, I’d love to see him in purple & gold. Maybe if Jimmy Buss didn’t fire our scouts during the lockout we’d have identified this guy before he ate our lunch….
Karl says
Why couldn’t Sun Yue turn out this way for us?
Kevin says
Lakers had heavy legs should’ve been a more reason to play Ebanks. He should’ve got some run in his hometown.
Pau was 4-6 in 1st half took 4 shots in 2nd half. Kobe was 1-11 in 1st half took 18 shots in 2nd half. Kobe was gunning trying to pick his team up while showing off for MSG. Alienting his teammates in the process who looked disinterested all night. I see why Kobe had 1 assist.
Mike Brown’s excuse for playing the big 3 heavy minutes is tired now. Practice pace isn’t game pace Kobe’s a warrior but Brown needs to sit him. 82 mins. in this b2b. 2nd most minutes in the league for a player who is in his 16th season. Brown needs to be smarter than this.
Lastly, Lakers ran Kobe Iso the whole 2nd half. Where’s the coaching? Mike Brown didn’t say a word to Metta during his 2nd qtr. meltdown. Brown getting tossed doesn’t look so good now.
sT says
Can a .500 team make the Playoffs in the Western Conference? I am not saying that this is a Lakers issue, btw.
Lakers8884 says
Thomas agreed completely, I was barely angry LA lost (I don’t expect them to win every game anymore like I did in previous years, sad to say my expectations are lowered that much), as a basketball fan I have loved everything about Lin and his story and things like this are so refreshing to see in the sport instead of analysts talking about how great the Heat are or how Lebron is better than Kobe.
Dave M says
8/Funky – Lakers actually offered Lin a contract back in 2010. He was undrafted and had played well in Summer League for Dallas, got offers from 3 teams and wound up going with Golden State (which was a partially guaranteed contract).
Scott says
While I’m happy for Lin, too bad it happens to be with the Knicks, the most overrated franchise in the league due to the NY media spotlight. They’re going to go bonkers over this one.
The problem is not that Lin looked unstoppable, but that Bynum had 3 points, which Darius notes was “maybe because of the Knicks defense”. So a D’ANTONI DEFENSE held the (supposedly) second best All-Star center in the game to 3 points? I don’t know whether that explanation is more troubling than the alternative one that a 24 year old was winded on the second night of a back-to-back. Not a good sign if this guy’s supposed to be our foundation for the future–and something surely not lost on Orlando management.
robinred says
@Scott,
The Knicks as you know have Tyson Chandler–that is a major reason Bynum had trouble. That and some double-teams. Also, Jeffries is a better defender than Stoudemire.
Ken says
Funky you are perfect in your post. Brown was scared of James and let him do what he wanted by the 2nd year.
He is doing it again with Kobe.
Jimmy did fire tbe entire staff with some guys likevHodges there from the sweet years. He felt they were making to much money and wanted to erase all remains of Phil.
Phil and Jimmy didn’t talk for 2 years and therevare MAJOR con flits between his sister and him.
Notice how we gave not heard a word from Jeanne this year. Notva world and last year she was heard daily.
This coach, the Odom embarrassment and replacing a good bench with bad white players like Kapono, Murphy and and McRoberts was ALL Jimmy Buss.
This organization is splintered and in disray and I believe Mitch is gone and Dr. Buss has lost is drive due to the split in the family.
I am not guessing here, these are facts based on my contacts within the NBA.
It is going to get worse. I promise you all.
robinred says
Ken,
Wouldn’t surprise me a bit. On the day of the Veto, I emailed a Lakers fan buddy and said that my gut told me this is a turning point and Lakers fans will be talking about it “twenty years from now–in a bad way. The day the Lakers stopped being the Lakers.”
Ken says
Robinred my company works with several ex-NBA players. One of my best friend is the President if the California chapter. Many ex-lakers in that group.
This goes back to Jerry West conflicts, Phil conflicts and now Mitch conflicts.
They all have one thing in common. Jim Buss. He let a car salesman talk his way into a job. Rambis wanted this jib.c BScott wanted this job. BShaw wanted this job. They were all Phil people. We got a car salesman or a video guy if you like.trades
Guest says
Going back to Lin, he played well but I am pretty surprised that he was drawing ticky tack fouls that only superstar PGs get. He runs a pick and role, Bynum hedges, Lin runs into Drew and fakes like he was mauled. Foul on Bynum similar to calls only Nash and CP3 get. Then Lin barrels to the cup semi out of control leading with his shoulder, initiates contact with Bynum or gasol who are straight up and being pushed back. Result is another foul ala one only Deron Williams draws.
The kid is good, but refs giving him superstar calls after only 4 games as a full time NBA PG is pure bs.
Ken says
Guest.
I pray for a PG that can do any if the things you described. Ours runs down the court, trips on the half court line, throws up a air ball and flops on the floor or passes to Metta who tries to eat it.
Ken says
Oh by the way Laker fans.
We are now in 8th place and one game out of 11th place. Yep 11th place.
Cleveland is in 10th place in the East. I guess Mike Brown got his wish. We are now Cleveland!
Nice. And you all wonder why I am negative. No Laker team in history has ever been in 11th place.
Ever.
Ken says
The good new us we get a lottery pick. Word is that Jimmy Buss is looking for another Luke Walton.
He never complains and is always smiling on the bench. He also washes Jimmy’s car every morning. Used to be Metta but he keep dropping tbe sponge.
The Dude Abides says
Decided to tally up the numbers, but just by adding up the totals in ESPN’s recap. There’s probably another method to add them up, but I don’t have access. For 22:17, Lin was defended by Fisher and had 22 pts on 9-13 FG and 2-2 FT, with 5 assists and 4 TOs. For 14:48, Lin was defended by Blake and had 12 pts on 4-10 FG and 4-6 FT, with 2 assists and 2 TOs. Both of Lin’s 2 TOs were on Blake steals, while with Fisher guarding him, 2 of Lin’s 4 TOs were on steals by Pau and Barnes.
Very small sample size, but in 1:29 being defended by Goudelock or Barnes, Lin had 4 pts on 4-5 FTs, with zeroes on the rest of his stat line.
harold says
As an asian-american, i must admit i had conflicting loyalties coming into this game.
Truth be told, I was fairly sure we were losing this one, considering that we’ve just played Boston in Boston + OT, and since Lin was effective against Harris, Williams and Wall, all of whom I’d take over Fisher & Blake. Really.
And I’m not really mad at this loss. It’s the closest thing to a scheduled loss and I would have been surprised had we won. Remember also that this was MSG, home of the Knicks, with Lin emerging as the Asian Jesus – he’s going to get calls. The fact that his style of play forces officials to call helps too, a la Wade against the Mavs in 2006.
Everclear says
Didn’t we bring Kapono and Murphy aboard specifically for their top-tier 3-point shooting? What’s wrong here? Is it our offensive system? I would think regardless of schemes, a 3-point shot and still a 3-point shot: Same distance, same ball, same hoop, same look they’re been seeing for decades.
I can’t understand why we’re so awful.
drrayeye says
Sad loss. Here’s my bigger picture assessment:
Before the season, I wondered if there was a coach who could successfully blend the personalities of the Laker players into a successful, championship level team as under Phil Jackson.
To me there were two key ingredients:
1. Kobe’s attitude
2. How Gasol was used
The only person I could think of who might be able to pull it off was/is Derek Fisher–but he was representing the players, and doesn’t consider himself a coach.
Mike Brown’s task was/is to blend Kobe with the rest of the team, saving Pau to fill holes–but not asking either Pau or Kobe to do too much, or play too many minutes.
Not surprisingly, Brown has chosen an adaptation of his famous “Cleveland” strategy: give Kobe premier opportunities to score–guaranteeing him his “numbers”–saving the crumbs for everyone else on offense; play gritty team defense. It is not very carefully thought through–not even by Kobe IMO.
It’s hard for me to see why anyone other than the star would want to play on a “Cleveland strategy” team–and even the star might opt out!
Who wants to be grit and a crumb? How unified can a team be under such a system?
How has Brown’s approach affected our thinking as Laker bloggers? Not good.
We’ve noticed bloggers increasingly talk about the Los Angeles “Kobe’s” and his pathetic teammates, just like the Cleveland “Labron’s” and his incompetent bench of old.
We’ve yet to see the inevitable conveyor belt of trades which never quite patches the holes–but they could be in the works.
Will it do any good?
It’s hard to see how Kobe’s attitude or team attitude will improve with Brown’s Cleveland approach. Right now, I just don’t see positive chemistry anywhere.
It’s hard to see how trades will improve either Kobe’s attitude or team chemistry. It already appears that Pau has been misused enough to both reduce his effectiveness and wear him down–amid the constant uncertainty of whether or not he will be traded. He isn’t even on the Western all star team this year!
The one bright spot for me has been Andrew Bynum. Despite the game tonight, I don’t think I’d trade him even for Dwight Howard.
marques says
Nobody can hit a shot……
Sorry point guards have been killing us for years…our solution was Kobe in the fourth…but now Kobe is slow as fisher in defense.
It’s time to move fisher into a player coach role for this season.
I don’t see how we can improve under the new CBA….we don’t want to be taxed heavily and we only have two assets to trade.
Oh well….maybe threes will start to fall and Mike brown will quit.
tviper says
This is a PG league and we are trotting out Fisher and Blake. Seriously. Blake is out a number of games, Goudlock emerges, and instead of playing G big minutes against a youthful Knicks team on a roll and on a back to back we get several minutes with Blake and Fisher on the court AT THE SAME TIME. Brown is a fool. He was in Cleveland, he is now. He hasn’t a clue how to successfully coach an NBA team. Lebron can cure a lot of foolishness, but a past-his-prime KB24 can’t. If the Lakers make the playoffs at all, it will be a first round exit unless serious roster moves are made and I don’t see anything happening. As one of the posters above said, there is a gigantic problem with the FO and it is going to get worse, not better. Too bad for one of the all time greats to have to experience this garbage at the end, but I guess you have to take the bad with the good.
exhelodrvr says
Brown really has no choice about playing Bynum, Gasol, and Bryant heavy minutes. If they want to get into the playoffs this year, they can’t afford to throw away any wins, and the bench just hasn’t been able to contribute. Not all the time, but way too often, everyone on the team stands at or near the three-point line watching as someone goes 1-on-1/1-on-2. That includes Kobe, when he passes the ball into to Gasol. Much less movement without the ball then there should be.
exhelodrvr says
25) Everclear,
Theoretically they could shoot threes, but they were also inexpensive. If you look at the moves, or lack of moves, the last year, both staff and players, the only explanation that fits all of them is cutting of expenses. Even the Paul trade was going to save the team a lot of money over the next 2-3 years.
KenOak says
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/8681/would-michael-jordan-have-done-that
That’s an article defending Lebron, but it applies to Kobe as well. Kobe just can’t win with even his own fan base. I think Kobe shoots one or two shots too many a game, but at the same time when I look at the flow of the game and see how other players were playing- I understand why he goes into gunner mode. There’s no winning for Kobe though. You won 5 championships? Well why didn’t you win them the way Magic won them!?
Kobe shooting too much is an issue, but it’s not the greatest issue for this team. We have a point guard who is currently contributing nothing, nada, zip, zero to the team. Not even intangibles at this point. Then we have a starting small forward who contributes on defense, but is an absolute liability on offense. Here’s a line from that article-
“He (Jordan) wanted the ball every time down the court and we have deified him for that. That’s part of made him the best basketball player to ever play the game.”
Everyone. Fans, media, and players deified Jordan for the same thing that Kobe is ostracized. Having said that, I would like for Kobe to average at least 2 less shots per game. If, for no other reason than to shut up his critics.
Snowmass Dave says
Does anyone here still believe we should keep Bynum and not do everything in our power to make a home for D Howard? Our current center just doesn’t have the motor that Howard does. And is there another worst shooting team in the league? Our PG play is an absolute joke. I would love to have Lin on the Lakers. He would be the best guard on our team on day 1. Glory days are long gone. Honestly, we need an upgrade virtually everywhere … except Kobe, and his age is showing. These games in which he scores in the thirties or more requires constant shooting to overcome his usual bad percentage. This team will be extremely easy to defend in the playoffs. Sorry Jerry.
robinred says
It’s hard to see how trades will improve either Kobe’s attitude or team chemistry.
___
As KenOak said, Kobe is not the problem. Talent, management and coaching are.
robinred says
Snowmass Dave,
Well, my main man Robert will certainly agree. 😉
The problem with Howard is that I don’t think he will stay here. Between the state of the roster, Kobe’s age, Brown and Buss’ bad reps, the “don’t-want-to-follow-Shaq” thing and perhaps some issue with Howard and Kobe, seems unlikely to me that Howard commits to an extension, even a short one.
If the Lakers trade Gasol and Bynum for Howard and Turk, then Howard bails, thay may as well just amnesty Kobe, go 11-71 next year and start the whole thing over. I can’t see the Buss family taking that risk.
Ken,
Thanks for the info. Seems logical, based on what I have seen of Brown.
Robert says
We will be in this state until 03-15 or a big trade – whichever comes first. In the interim, we will win some, lose some, debate Kobe, criticize MB, and wonder why Kapono is still in the NBA. When judgment day comes, there are three possibilities:
1) We get D12: Some of us (especially an annoying guy named Robert) will be ecstatic, and others will be skeptical, but we will all be invigorated.
2) We make a major trade (PG or AB) but not for D12: I have no idea who this would be for and am skeptical it would get done. If it does, I think the majority of this board will not like it. Why?: PG does not really have good value anymore, so what we could get for him is minimal. So that leaves AB. And what will people think if we trade AB and do not get D12? And where will we be then?
3) We nibble at the fringes: This option is where we keep the big three, we use our mini-MLE, and we use our TPE and draft picks to get a mediocre 1 and/or 3. We get marginally improved, and a segment of this board will be optimistic, however many of us also know that adding a mediocre PG is not making us a contender.
I still am obviously rooting for #1, but it appears as though the Magic are leaning towards going down honorably – in other words – letting D12 go to FA, which means Cuban. They get nothing, but they also do not help the Lakers, which means they do not have to listen to Cuban, Gilbert, their media, and STERN.
Unfortunately this means #3 is most likely. When #3 is complete, we will have a game or two where the board optimists can say: See it was the PG all along !!! However deep down inside, we will all know that we can’t compete at the top level. It will become apparent that we will make the playoffs, maybe get as high as a 4-5 seed, but that is it. 2nd round elimination is likely (being a little optimistic – Ken would have bleaker view).
We will then start to debate some more unpleasant things. The options will then be:
A) Let Kobe ride out his career, get him as many points as possible, but no real shot at a title.
B) Blow it up and re-build.
I might be over-simplifying a little, but not much. About a month ago, I posted “my nightmare” scenario. At this point, I would have to say – the reality is worse than the nightmare.
However I will close with my usual optimism: D12 or Bust and I am still hoping for D12 !!!!!!!!
robinred says
exhelo-
That is partly true, but we have to remember that the Lakers are so far over the cap, that they couldn’t really do any major adds. As I said before, getting budget-conscious AFTER committing 143M to Pau and Kobe through 2014 and AFTER signing the Time-Warner deal doesn’t make much sense, even with revenue sharing.
But there is certainly some truth to what you are saying.
exhelodrvr says
33) robinred,
‘doesn’t make much sense,’
It does if the goal is to maximize profits.
DJ says
Jim Buss is a very confident man. In 2006, or 2007 Dallas was number 1 in the West, Lakers was 7th in the west. Jim Buss said on the radio that Lakers were not afraid of Dallas. One month ago, once again he said that he believes in this team . I don’t think Jim watching basketball games, he just look at the roster list.
I didn’t watch Lin before last night, but i thought he is good, if you can score over 20 points in each games , you are not bad, usually backup PG can have only one good game . He reminds me of young Steve Nash, Lin can shoot, can pass, can run. One thing i don’t understand, Magic was a great PG, but after he retired, Lakers don’t draft or sign any great PG any more.
robinred says
Exhelo,
Well, even in that case, Pau’s contract doesn’t make sense. Kobe’s probably does–people come to see him. But I don’t think Pau is a draw. But even with Kobe, the sell-outs will decrease if the team drops below .500.
Kevin says
Kobe sees we have not good coaching. No plays so he’s doing what he wants out there. Same as 05. Kobe puts his hand up and he gets the ball everytime. Mike Brown didn’t veto that play not one time whole 2nd half. Dysfunction from the suits down in Lakerland.
Robert says
exhelo/robinred: I am hardly a fan of the FO, however I do not see it that way. I think we made the CP3 deal, we got screwed, we made a bad knee jerk reaction with LO, we made mistakes with Kapono, TM, JM, and we are stuck with a huge PR and limited options. Large post in moderation will come above : )
robinred says
Robert,
I am agnostic on the question. But yes, as we have said, any evaluation of Jim Buss and Mike Brown needs to account for the veto. Not to say they have not made mistakes outside of that, but it is a big part of the picture.
Goes back to the same thing: gotta wait until the deadline on Buss.
On Brown, I think the evidence is clear on Fisher, on play-calling, and I continue to fail to see the point of not giving McRoberts and Ebanks a little run. If nothing else, they give the team a little youth and speed and it seems highly unlikely they are a downgrade from what the Lakers are doing now.
Had the Lakers simply kept Odom and kept the mini-MLE, they would have a better shot at JR Smith. But McRoberts is here, and ill-fitting piece or not, Brown should play him a little.
Robert says
robinred: With regard to financial discussion: I wonder if there are any outs/penalties (from the network) to the Lakers if the ratings/team go downhill? The money from sell outs is peanuts compared to that TV deal.
Ken says
We made knee jury reaction with LO, made mistakes with Kapono, TM, JM and don’t forget hired wrong coach for this roster. Robert
In my business that’s called failure of management or bankrupt! Add in signing Metta Mess, Fisher and Walton, firing your proven scouting staff and that is half your team, scouts and coach errors.
If I made that many errors in my business I would deserve to fail and be out of business.
Welcome to the new world of Jimmy Buss.
robinred says
Robert,
That’s all well and good, but again: what if Howard leaves? That’s the issue, or one of them.
Robert says
robinred: Yes – Read my large post above again. There are two lists 1-3 and A+B. If we get D12 but he leaves us high and dry, then we are one step closer to B. To be clear: I want #1 (D12), if not I lean towards B (blow it up). However I predict: #3 (Nibble) then A) Coast with Kobe climbing the ladder.
Darius Soriano says
A new post is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2012/02/11/kobe-and-the-lakers-in-the-clutch/
Edwin Gueco says
13,
Dave, remember this kid, Lin in ’10 LakerTom suggested that he was a good take and gave a good preview in the D’League. There were three teams vying for him and Lakers lukewarmly offered him a minimum salary so he opted for his hometown favorite, the Warriors. I don’t know why Lakers did not compete or offered him a decent offer 1) He’s a young PG 2) Lin is an Asian-American that will attract more $$$ in terms of tickets and promotions to a particular target market in the Southland 3) He was cheaper than those old fogies we got like Smith or veteran do-nothing Luke. Well, fast forward ’11, he was again available when Warrior cut him off, this time MBrown and JimBuss overruled Mitch as reported on LA Daily News. MBrown said he doesn’t know this kid. Mitch being a very cooperative and indecisive GM, who rarely exhibit independence went with the wants of these salesmen.
Today, it is reported that Gilbert Arenas will have a practice schedule, Mitch will be watching and Kobe stamped his approval, will MBrown and Jimbo overrule them again?
I still believe in Kapono/Murphy/Blake can do the job, what they need is total confidence on them, permanent rotation of playing time and a play designed to exhibit their talents through double screen, screen and pop not just a passing fancies looking for Kobe at all times. For the Lakers to succeed further, there has to be three dimensional threats 1) Kobe; 2) Low Post domination by the twin towers 3) Perimeter shooting. Kapono and Murphy right now have lost their self respect, they are like those little kids who were perceived to be weak and dumb, good for nothing journeymen. they are just going with a day-to-day job and looking forward to retirement. We don’t have Riley’s talents in motivating people out from Mbrown, this coach is just plain salesman who has an excuse or description for everything for the media, yet leaves a lot to be desired from coaching or motivating his players. Jimbo got hooked on his glib talking presentation of “I’m good”.
Snoopy2006 says
All the screaming for Jim Buss’s head reminds me of the Kupcake fury pre-Gasol trade. I’m not saying it’s misplaced, just that perceptions can swing very quickly in this business, with just a couple moves.
My biggest beef with Jim Buss isn’t the Brown hiring or the LO trade (although if we end up not using our TPE, that moves up) – my biggest problem is his firing of Ronnie Lester and all our scouts. As far as I know, he hasn’t replaced our scouts, has he? That screams cheapskate, and there’s no way around it.
I share Funky Chicken’s concerns. If we still want a chance of competing (whether around this core or around a Kobe-Dwight or Kobe-Williams core), we will have to fill out the roster with late draft picks and savvy minimum signings that turn into serviceable role players. Our chances of doing so are severely handicapped now that our scouting staff consists of Kupchak and Buss. I don’t really see any way to defend Buss cleaning out one of the best front offices in the league, and he’ll have to find good scouts if this team has a chance of competing in the future.
Darius Soriano says
#48. The Lakers offered a very similar contract to the Warriors. Are you saying, with the full benefit of hindsight, that the Lakers should have offered more? Plus, the Lakers were not able to “sign” Lin after the Warriors waived him. He was claimed off waivers by the Rockets this season and the Lakers had a full roster and thus could not get him (you need a roster spot to claim a waived player). When Houston waived him, the Knicks claimed him and, again, the Lakers could not claim him because they had a full roster.
Also, reports have come out that the Knicks nearly waived Lin the day before he had his first breakout game against the Nets. So, lets not act like teams should have seen this coming…he’s a great story and big props to him for showing he can play. But it took a variety of breaks for him to show he could play. To try and make it seem like the Lakers made a mistake by not getting him totally disregards the facts the of the situation.
Joshua says
#17: Jordan had 11for 29 games all the time. No reason to put “blessings” at the end of your post when the rest is just trolling.
Joshua says
Oops…guess that post was moderated anyway
In any
Ben R says
52,
You’re correct that the Lakers would have been behind the Knicks in the waiver wire regardless because of their better record, so this is all a moot point. The only opportunity the Lakers had to actually get Lin was during the 2010 offseason, and it’s kind of hard to fault them for declining to give more years and guaranteed money, all doubled due to the luxury tax, to an undrafted free agent who was clearly a development project.