Even though the Lakers are 1-3 to start the season, tonight’s game against the Jazz gives them a chance to build on the foothold they established in their last contest. That game against the Pistons showed a Lakers team that executed on both sides of the ball; a team that could play up to (or at least approach) the high standard many have for them season.
The Jazz, however, offer a different quality opponent than the Pistons (who remain winless after a loss to the Nuggets last night). This Utah team is deep, has quality size, and is coming of a nice playoff run last season. They are, like the Clippers team the Lakers played last week, a team that is more than capable of beating the Lakers even if not at their best. In other words, tonight a is a challenge.
For the Lakers to be up to the task of winning this game, and on the road no less, there is a formula they’ll need to abide by. And while these tasks don’t just apply to beating the Jazz, tonight is another chance to refine this plan to get another much needed win. Some things to look for:
- Cutting out the sloppy play. Turnovers are a death knell for this Lakers team and will continue to be as long as their wings aren’t the fastest in the world and their big men love to hang around the paint for post touches and offensive rebounding chances. Since none of those things are changing, the Lakers need to take care of the ball to avoid the opposition racing back at them after a miscue.
- Transition defense doesn’t just apply to turnovers, but also to misses and, in certain situations, even after made baskets. Teams want to run on the Lakers rather than go up against their half court defense where shot blockers protect the paint and gambling wings can disrupt perimeter actions. The Lakers must race back of missed shots and must have good floor balance even on makes to ensure teams don’t leak out.
- Offensive spacing is key to success. The Lakers can’t get caught up going one on one too often or stick to one side of the floor on any given possession. The ball must move, players must move, and the appropriate amount of room must be given to Kobe, Pau, and Howard when they have the ball in scoring positions. So much of the Lakers offensive success has been based off the defense not being in position to provide appropriate help on their star players. Maintain the spacing and that trend continues.
- Help the helper on defense and rotate to shooters on defense. The Lakers bigs are going to protect the rim. Howard is already showing the difference he can make in around the rim as deterrent. Gasol and Hill have also shown that they’re up to the task of challenging and altering shots. However, in order to maximize their success, they must help each other and receive help from their perimeter teammates. Hard close outs force players to put the ball on the floor. When big men hedge, the other big must clog the paint while weak side wings dig down to help against paint crashes. Everyone must move on a string and have confidence that the man behind them will be there.
In terms of the Jazz specifically, there are a few points that we do need to touch on.
Devin Harris has been replaced by Mo Williams in the three team trade that sent Devin Harris to the Hawks, Mo (and Marvin) Williams to the Jazz, and Lamar Odom to the Clippers. Mo is a different type of guard than Harris and must be respected as a shooter. When the Jazz run P&R, the Lakers must fight over the top of screens and not let Williams find his rhythm. Make him drive into the teeth of the defense and hit floaters over Howard, Gasol, and Hill.
The Jazz employ big men that love to live in the paint. Al Jefferson is one of the more gifted offensive post players in the league. Millsap has shown to be a good mid-range shooter but wants to use the strength of that shot to attack the paint using his good first step. Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors want to punish teams with power moves in the paint and will feast on the offensive glass if given the opportunity. All of these players must be respected and the Lakers’ bigs must be up to the dual challenge of helping on any wing penetration while still monitoring this stable of more than capable big men.
Lastly, the news of the day is that Mike Brown has settled on a rotation and it involves Ron getting more run with the second unit and Jodie Meeks finding himself out of the mix for the time being. I have some longer thoughts on this, but the cliff notes version is that I’m not a fan of this move. Meeks can provide the spacing I discussed above, not to mention how issues of high minute counts and the use of the bench can combine to potentially damage long term goals.
We’ll have to see how this shift in the rotations goes but I envision as many, if not more, pitfalls than the benefits gained. Only time will tell, however.
Sam Shaw says
I agree. Questionable rotations still seem to be MB’s Achilles Heel. This Jazz team seems to be pretty scrappy. Do you think the Laker bigs are going to be tested in terms of energy? I’m a fan of Millsap, and he’s had pretty solid outings against the Lakers in the past. Utah is a tough place to play, but it’s no Rose Garden. I think we pull it off tonight, but it will be a close one.
Anon says
Jazz will roll in this one….105-92. Brown will come under more fire…deservedly so!!
Jim C. says
To quote the movie “Hoosiers” with regards to Mike Brown…
“I’m trying hard to believe you know what you’re doing.”
Don says
—
Metta World Peace will get minutes at shooting guard, Lakers Coach Mike Brown said.
“That’s going to be my second unit,” said Brown. “Metta will be the two, [Antawn] Jamison is the three, [Jordan] Hill is the four and [Dwight] Howard or Pau [Gasol] is going to be the five.”
“I’ve got to give my bench a chance, because right now I really haven’t. I’ve been messing around with it too much trying to search for combinations. Now that I’ve found a combination that I think I want to roll with it a little bit, let’s give them a chance to see how they play before making another change.”
—
It’s clear that Meeks is a solid NBA rotation player and decent defender. When Meeks was on the court last season, the PHI defense improved from 101.2 pts per 100 possessions given up to 99.3 pts per possession, an improvement of 1.8 less pts allowed. His SG opponent averaged 8.5 PER on .424 eFG%. He played the majority of his minutes at SG, and he occupied 3/4 PHI’s best 5 man units last year (82games).
Ebanks has not established himself as a rotation player yet and he is worse at the SG position than the SF position. There’s no evidence that Ebanks is a superior defender at SG simply because he’s longer, in fact the opposite is more likely. When Ebanks was on the court last season, the defense got worse as it allowed 4.1 more points per 100 possessions. And his opponents produced 23.1 PER on .590 eFG as he played SG and 12.4 PER on .442 eFG at SF. His offense got worse as he moved to shooting guard as well. So he should not be playing SG period.
One might argue that Meeks played with better defensive lineups than Ebanks, but when PHI’s other SG players, Evan Turner and Lou Williams, were on the court, the PHI defense got worse by 2-4 pts per 100 possessions. Over extended minutes these guys played with the same lineups and Meeks had a greater impact on the defensive end, suggesting he made a contribution there.
Jamison has demonstrated an inability to play SF at an NBA level since more than 2 years ago. His decline is apparent as his SF counterparts look like all-stars when he played SF two years ago –
Opponent Counterpart 48-min production by position
09-10 Washington:
SF: 18.2 PER
PF: 18.1 PER
Team net per 48min: -1.3 at SF vs. -2.9 at PF
10-11 Cleveland:
SF: 26 PER
PF: 17.4 PER
Team net per 48min: -61.7 at SF vs. -8.8 at PF
11-12 Cleveland:
SF: no minutes at SF (probably not a coincidence)
MWP has not played significant minutes at the 2 to warrant significant discussion in recent years, but chances are his defensive impact would not be much different than Meeks.
Mike Brown is going out of his way to play Jamison at the SF and unproven players at the 2 while benching a proven player in Meeks. He’s going against seasons of clear data with justification like “he has longer arms.” He says he needs to give people a chance and not make changes for awhile before tinkering with the lineup. If so, he clearly hasn’t given Meeks a chance despite the evidence that he would make a positive impact, or neutral at worst, which is more than we can say for Mike Brown’s other options.
All of this points to to what seems like everyone except Mike Brown already knows: play DH & Jamison at C & PF, play Pau and Hill together, play Ebanks at SF and give extended minutes to Meeks at SG, who, astoundingly, through preseason until now still has yet to see significant time with DH or the other starters to warrant complete benching. One would think his extended minutes on a solid team making positive contributions would go against any and all bad play for short stretches. The earlier all of this happens the more quickly the team develops chemistry with mixing the second unit players with the starters. Anything else will be lost time.
Anon says
Does anyone have any idea what input assistant coaches have in lineups? Do they not provide any statistical analysis to MB that shows Meeks is a capable backup SG and Jamison is a stretch 4, not a 3 where he is routinely exposed?
Jim C. says
All of this points to to what seems like everyone except Mike Brown already knows: play DH & Jamison at C & PF, play Pau and Hill together, play Ebanks at SF and give extended minutes to Meeks at SG, who, astoundingly, through preseason until now still has yet to see significant time with DH or the other starters to warrant complete benching. One would think his extended minutes on a solid team making positive contributions would go against any and all bad play for short stretches. The earlier all of this happens the more quickly the team develops chemistry with mixing the second unit players with the starters. Anything else will be lost time.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Shaun says
solid breakdown don
P. Ami says
Well said, Don
sbdunks says
Great digging through the numbers Don.
“The earlier all of this happens the more quickly the team develops chemistry with mixing the second unit players with the starters. Anything else will be lost time.”
This is the worst part about it to me. The team is already fighting an uphill battle getting acclimated to each other, learning the offense, learning the defense, fighting through injuries, etc. Brown is compounding these natural issues with his nonsensical line-ups/rotations. He is throwing away valuable time in order to learn lessons that seemingly everyone else knows. Seriously, how long has it been since Metta was logging effective minutes at SG? And the same for Jamison at SF? It’s been YEARS now for both. I can’t even play devils advocate to try and understand his rotational reasoning.
Aaron says
The real question is when will Brown realize Jamison is done? That’s the first step in recovery is admitting the problem. Jamison on the floor means either no Meeks, Ebanks, or Hill.
Henry says
“I’ve got to give my bench a chance, because right now I really haven’t. I’ve been messing around with it too much trying to search for combinations. Now that I’ve found a combination that I think I want to roll with it a little bit, let’s give them a chance to see how they play before making another change.”
Isn’t it funny that mike brown’s saying he wants to give his bench a chance? If he really wanted to give his bench a chance, he should play meeks at the 2, ebanks at the 3 and jamison at the 4. Its that simple. I am absolutely dumbfounded by this recent rotation change(playing metta at SG). Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. Somebody needs to check mike brown’s IQ because he might really be a potato head.
Ko says
Rumors of Sloan increase as reality of Brown’s confusion continues.
Paul L says
90% of the time I would give coach the benefit of the doubt concerning lineups. They see these players in practice and breakdown film daily. But this is just unfathomable to me that Brown can’t see the obvious rotation as outlined by Don.
One thing that Don didn’t mention but has been said here previously is that it makes a ton of sense to play Blake extended mins with the starters and let Nash create with the bench lineups
Kevin_ says
Putting a Morris-Metta-Jamison-Hill-Howard lineup together focuses a lot on defense. Not sure it’ll work because the schemes haven’t been there. Brown may be playing a dangerous game putting all his eggs in one basket that when Dwight gets healthy all the defensive problems go away. I’m not sure that’s the case have to have schemes to go with it.
I also agree with wanting Meeks to play. And it goes against what Brown has done in the past and gives credence to those who say he’s panicing. West, Gibson, Sessions, Blake are all undersized players who Brown has played SG for an extended period of time. Now he’s over thinking throwing things together to see what sticks. Players need more consistency from the coach.
This could be a confidence boost if Lakers win. Kobe always plays like MJ game 6 at Utah. Got a feeling Lakers win this game.
exhelodrvr says
I have a hard time believing that Kobe, Nash, and Howard would not complain to Brown if they didn’t agree with the underlying logic of his moves, and I have a hard time believing that if they did all complain, that he would continue on the same path. I think that there are issues with some of the players adjusting to this offense (which is to be expected with this offense, and would be seen in practice), and that that plays a significant factor in the rotations.
Rusty Shackleford says
I’m watching the game on League Pass. It’s the Utah channel and they just showed a mortuary commercial. . . . . . That is a clear cut example of the fundamental differences between L.A.’s & Utah’s basketball markets.
Ko says
Not a good start. No D and no rebounds. Kobe TO’s are getting creepy.
Ko says
How many wide open shots can Blake miss per game. 3 already, one of Mitch’s worst signings.
Ko says
Brown it just amazing. Takes out Dwight after 6 minutes then puts four subs in against 3 starters. Presto down by 8. How can the Buss family sit and watch this stupidy? He will cost Lakers 10 plus games with his clueless rotations.
Just amazing.
Joe says
This team is so awful when Kobe is on the bench.
Joe Atlanta says
@ this rate, Mike Brown will not survive the month of Dec
mindcrime says
Because I am trying to turn over a new leaf and keep the commenting guidelines in mind with more consistency, and because I see everyone has already pretty much said all there is to say about MB, I am going to self-edit on the basis of Commenting Guideline # 8 and just say “me too.”
Yech.
Jerke says
This has the potential to get real ugly real fast.
Yar says
Thet honestly just need to get rid of Mike Brown. This is embarrassing. I’ve been holding my tongue for almost a year, but he’s proven himself in over his head.
Joe says
Jordan Hill did such a good job finishing at the basket last year…not so much this one so far.
batman says
can you not bank in freethrows? why doesnt howard take a full step back?
JD says
Ideally when u go second unit ud surround Howard with shooters yet no Meeks(again) and no Jamison at the 4 (his best position).
Jerke says
I have a feeling this is going to be a back to earth game for Kobe unfortunately – he just doesn’t look into it right now at all. Wonder how much that foot is bothering him really. I’m torn though about sitting him if it is – don’t want Brown to have another excuse as to why he isn’t winning if both Nash and Bryant are out.
Joe says
I don’t know what is worse, watching Mike Brown “coach” or having to listen to the Utah announcers. Matt Harping actually found something he is worse at than playing basketball.
Robert says
Following the lead on commenting guidelines:
“The goal of this site is to have a fun, smart, and thoughtful discussion of what has happened and what could happen (or maybe should) with Lakers basketball and the NBA.”
What has happened: A potentially great team was given to Mike Brown
What Could Happen: MB will be fired
What Should Happen: MB should be fired
JD says
It’s 5 mins to go in the second and have just now cracked 30 points
Zirk says
I haven’t watched any of the game so far. Can someone explain why it’s almost half and Kobe’s taken only 2 shots?? Really?
Joe says
Everything is running through Kobe, and the Lakers are starting to creep back in. Maybe we can clone Kobe instead of sitting him?
mindcrime says
@ Joe:
It’s funny–each time we endure announcers from another western conference foe, it seems like that particular crew is the worst–until we have to put up with the next one. I wonder if they are always this bad, or if the Lakers just bring out the worst in them.
Joe says
@ mindcrime probably a little from column A and a little from column B.
Ko says
Jim , Jerry and Mitch can’t be sitting at home watching this team, these rotations, this defense and Bown’s horrible rotations and not feel embarrished. 1-4 worst start ever? Worst coach ever.
I really see a team that will be fighting for a PLAYOFF spot not a championship.
mindcrime says
The “no Nash effect” is rearing its ugly head in one key way—Kobe with 4 TO’s in the first half. He is really struggling with his handle again.
On pace to take 70 shots again. The drawback of all of the FTA is, if you aren’t making your freebies, those are just more empty possessions. Another game that is driven by (1) too many turnovers (nine) and (2) bad FT shooting (15 for 23–blechh) (I’ve become so numb to bad bench play that I almost forgot the scintillating six points the backups have chipped in. Do we really think Meeks couldn’t have that by himself on a couple of threes by now?)
AusPhil says
Better 2nd qtr, but I have to echo the concerns about the rotations. I can’t understand wilfully playing Ron at the 2 and Jamison at the 3. It baffles me. And what is Meeks doing in practice that’s gotten him nailed to the bench?
And the TOs are still killing us! Fingers crossed for an improvement in the 2nd half.
Joe M says
I am starting to believe that this team may be overrated a bit. Gasol is not the same Gasol from a few years ago when we won the title. World Peace is arguably the worst small forward in basketball, a guy who makes me cringe every time he tries to dribble the ball in the lane and can’t make a 3 to save his life. And the bench seems pretty bad while maybe just a little bit better than last year. I was excited to see we got Jamison knowing this guy was a good scoring but I guess that was some time ago, he now has done nothing to contribute to this team and is more a waste of space when he is out there along with the rest of the subs. Howard, Kobe, and Nash when he comes back will be this whole team.
batman says
pau looks awful on defense and physically weak on offense everything short so he is 7 footer that takes 17 footers and gets beaten to rebounds by back up guards…blake can not guard williams why not try ANYBODY else on the team? nobody can be worse put meeks out there on him try to do something…i do not get coach brown its unbearable
Joe says
I would gain a minimal amount of respect for Brown if he called a time out and lit into these guys, they don’t even have practice intensity right now…starting to take on the personality of the coach.
Ko says
Kobe has 6 turnovers tonight. He now leads The NBA. Guess he understand Mike’s offense.
Joe says
Al Jefferson would have been T’d up by any other ref crew other than this one apparently.
Kevin_ says
Lot of problems with this team and confidence is one of them. A huge part of confidence comes from the coach Brown gives his team none. Problem #1.
Joe says
Refs have really swallowed their whistles.
Rt says
With 3 minutes left in the 3rd, we have made more free throws than field goals.. sad.
Rt says
Also what does Kobe have to do to get foul calls? He’s getting really beat up.
Joe says
Great, more Darius Morris, Brown is such a moron.
Zirk says
It’s official. This team is horsesh*t! And even worse, as smart as a box of rocks.
JD says
After all that…barely cut it to double digits. That last cherry pick was the first time mike brown got up all night and all his cronie could do was smile.
Kevin_ says
So now we see what this team looks like when Kobe isn’t shooting 60% on his way to a big night. Where’s the points coming from?
Lakers have had to play catch up 4 of 5 games this year. Not good.
batman says
the bench is garbage…total garbage…nothing we can do
Ko says
Worst bench in NBA
Most TO’s in NBA
Kobe leading and has 7 tonight.
Highest payroll in NBA
Worst hiring of a coach in Laker history.
Not good.
Bandiger says
Well they are still in this game surprisingly. This game is just ugly to watch though.
Joe says
Lakers only in this game because the Jazz are incomprehensibly terrible.
Tra says
As terrible and lackidasical as we’ve played, down only 8 entering the 4th. Very much a winnable game.
Zirk says
Yup. Dumb as dirt. Let’s keep leaving Foye open. Yeah, that’s smart. Freakin morons!
batman says
hey should we guard foye hes heating up from three? nah lets all 5 stay in the paint!
mindcrime says
Too bad we don’t have a guy like Foye on our team that can get streaky hot from three at times…we should go out and sign someone like that to backup Kobe and….oh wait….nevermind.
Bandiger says
I find this game hilarious, Metta and Morris provide the comedy.
Lil pau says
Howard hill Jamison metta Morris.
Unbelievable.
Joe says
We have to guard one guy on the floor and we leave him open every single time. Of course this is Mike Brown overplaying the reserves, they got us close, time to put in the starters and try and bring this home? No, not in Mikey’s world, he waits until Utah goes on a big run, then he brings in the starters when momentum is against us and they will have to spend all their energy digging out of a hole.
Scarier, Utah has been BRUTAL tonight, if we can’t beat them…honestly I would just shut Kobe down until he is healthy because it is pointless to play him.
Tra says
Guarantee Jodie Meeks is sitting on our bench looking @ this 3pt fg display by Foye saying ‘that should be me.’ Instead, we have Jamison out there giving us absolutely nothing.
Ko says
Come on guys! Don’t you know Mike Brown is a defensive genius! Leave him along he’s leading us to a lottery pick finally.
sbdunks says
You could see Mo just searching for a way to get Foye the ball, it was apparent to everyone except the 5 Lakers on the floor.
Look what a shooter off the bench could do, I sure wish we had one…
Joe says
Is there still a 3 second rule in the NBA or did they cancel it just before this game?
mindcrime says
Dear FB&G Moderators:
I am having a really hard time complying with Rules 1 and 8 tonight—so I’m going to go have a beer and violate rule 9…….
Kevin_ says
Very few teams, Lakers not one of them, stand a chance trailing game after game. Lakers have to find a way to get consistent scoring from names other than Kobe, Pau, Dwight.
sbdunks says
I think this is the beginning of the end for Brown in LA. Not because of tonights result, not because of the record so far, but because of the Lakers body language. They look lackadaisical, dejected, frustrated, etc. There is absolutely no reason other than coaching why a team with this much talent should look this bad.
Zirk says
@sbdunks,
I agree with everything you and everyone else says about Brown. But I’m seriously starting to question the talent on this team. As Joe M said earlier, it’s pretty much Kobe, Dwight, and maybe Nash when he returns. Everyone else is just garbage to me.
Ko says
Good thing Detroit is still in the NBA ir Lakers would be 0 and 13 this year.
Welcome to your lottery team Lakers by Mike Brown.
Joe says
Kobe demonstrating to Mike Brown the Kobe System offence, if we ran this from the beginning of the game we would win. Instead Kobe had like 2 field goal attempts 20 mins into the game while Pau, Blake, MWP, and Morris missed shot after open shot. The Princeton offence only works if shooters hit shots, that is not going to happen here.
Joe says
I see Mike Brown continues to render Pau completely ineffective by having him play at the foul line and out. Remember when he came to L.A. and played in the post frequently racking up points, assists and o-boards.
Glove says
Mike Brown sort of makes me long for the Randy Pfund days in Lakers Land.
Turnovers and transition defense hurt the Lakers again. Lakers have more FTs made than FGs made for the game.
Zirk says
Don’t worry guys. We play Detroit again on Feb. 3rd. We might have a chance to get our 2nd win of the season that day! Might…
Joe says
Well doesn’t that just sum things up.
Kevin_ says
12 bench points. Pathetic. Just Pathetic. Problem #2
Randy Foye 17 points tonight.
Jim C. says
I’ve tried to be patient, but I’ve reached the point that I cannot anymore.
I’m joining the call of the majority of posters here on this blog calling for Mike Brown to be fired. It isn’t just the record, which now stands at 1-4…or 1-12 if you count the preseason, it’s the WAY the Lakers have lost these games.
They look unhappy, unmotivated and lethargic. The rotation that Mike Brown has settled on defies all common sense and logic and the substitution patterns are incomprehensible. This team is somehow light years worse than the sum of it’s parts.
It isn’t ALL on Brown. Steve Blake, just as an example, was absolutely an abomination tonight. Wide open shot after wide open shot missed. Dwight Howard, despite his being a new Laker favorite, was also REALLY bad tonight. He failed to seal his man while posting up time and time again. Artest botched at least two easy fast break buckets that I watched by taking it himself rather than dropping it off to a WIDE OPEN trailer.
But this team is underperforming dramatically and it is doing so in a way that point to issues that are, in my mind, systemic and not simply a result of a team not having had a lot of time to play together.
The team just doesn’t look energetic and like it is giving 100%. It’s clear to me at least that they have not bought in and it shows on the court.
I wanted to have faith in Brown and I’m sure someone like Darius will tell me that I didn’t give it enough time, but I must reluctantly call for Mike Brown to be shown the door.
Joe says
If there is one more game this year where Brown play Morris and gives no floor time to Meeks he should fire himself (minimally). Not sure exactly what positives Morris and say Jamison or even Ebanks are bringing that Meeks was not. We know at some point Meeks will heat up, Jamison looks done and has always been a huge defensive liability, Ebanks and Morris have not proven that they deserve a regular rotation spot at any time.
AlexK says
Just wondering how many games Lakers going to loose before Buss/Mitch will get an idea, this is not right coach for the veteran team. Players looking like they have no clue what they doing, defense included. Last year his explanation was – no camp. What he is going to say this year? DH was missing? What this has anything to with our bench looking like a bunch idiots?
Ko says
If it takes me all year I will continue to do everything I can to make my point to Laker management.
Mike Brown
The mistake on the Lake. rs
Gary says
Antawn Jamison is horrible. Hes done absolutely nothing on the bench. He scored 17ppg last season but hes probably washed up now. Why not try out Meeks? Or perhaps move Jamison to PF because thats what hes supposed to be playing. I really dont understand Mike Brown’s rotations. Sadly, I dont think Brown has a clue either.
Kevin_ says
Lakers have two 2nd rounders, 3 vet minimum players, 3 aging stars in rotation. To top it all of they have a bad coach. Lakers are a bad team right now. They have to turn this around somehow. Every loss hurts our chance at homecourt.
Zirk says
Ko,
I hope you plan on calling into Lakers Line tonight. Can’t wait to hear you bash Brown and the rest of the clowns on the team.
T. Rogers says
sbdunks is right. I haven’t been calling for Brown’s head. I’ve tried being patient. But 5 games into the season the body language says it all. Other teams are still enjoying themselves getting up and down the floor. Five games in everyone is still in the playoff hunt. The bottom half of the league who won’t make the playoffs still have a reason to play hard. Meanwhile the Lakers, who are supposed to be a contender, look tired and dejected after only a handful of games. Brown is on borrowed time.
And I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the Princeton I saw them running most of the night. Or maybe they added the “Kobe isolated on the wing” set to the offense. Either way, Mitch needs to his best Dr. Drew imitation and stage an intervention. This team is going south fast.
Jim C. says
I reject the call for Jamison to get NO time. He should get no time at the 3.
He is absolutely a perfect compliment to play a stretch 4 with Howard at center as a floor spacer.
Anonymous says
Gasol sleepwalks thru another game…. wow he has fallen off the map
LT mitchell says
Going back to last season, a few of the major weaknesses on this team were lack of speed, which is related to poor transition defense……. Outside shooting……. Poor bench.
So what does Brown do to fix these problems? He makes the team even slower by putting Artest at SG and Jamison at SF, than benches the best outside shooter and one of the more athletic players on the bench in Meeks. He than makes incomprehensible rotations to destroy the confidence of the bench players o start the season. Don’t be surprised if the Master of Panic has another panic attack and decides to play Gasol at SF and Hill at SG.
Kevin_ says
Lakers have to dig deep and find that groove. Whatever that groove is they have to find it. If I’m tired of them losing I know they are.
Joe M says
A lot of Mike Brown bashing. As a matter of fact, this forum has become almost nothing but a place to bash potato head. If the Lakers higher ups would see this forum and see just how pissed we have become, they might just fire Brown right now. But lets also be real, it is not all Brown. I would argue a veteran team like this should be able to find some ways to be effective and not always have to rely on great coaching. It looks like to me there is a lack of talent issue on this team outside the team’s big “3”, Gasol not included. Not to mention Kobe is old and can’t be relied on every night and we already know Nash will have issues with his age. Maybe only 4 games into the season and they will start playing better at some point, but I can’t see this Lakers team winning a championship as is.
harold says
…
What is there to say, really?
Is MB purposely trying to avoid all the lineups that make sense?
Dox says
Why Jodie Meeks is not Kobe’s primary back up is beyond me. I find it hard to believe that a team (with a bench as bad as the Lakers) can’t find time for someone as talented as Jodie Meeks. Laker coaches need to stop over thinking things.
Zirk says
Kevin,
Are they tired of losing? Maybe Kobe. But after listening to the same b.s. come spewing out of their mouths during postgame interviews, especially MB, I’m not so sure. I’m really not.
Rt says
I can’t think of a single other coach in the NBA that would bench Meeks for entire games on a nightly basis for absolutely ZERO reason. Or make Nashty look below average.
I thought I could make it to 10 games before making any judgments on MB’s/the team’s progression this season, but I’ve seen too much already. I’m really sick of this no-adjustment, let’s-play-everyone-out-of-position offense. I think I’m finally ready to admit that I would accept even D’Antoni with open arms if it meant that MB were shown the door.
jodial says
I was dubious of the Brown hire when it happened. Highly dubious. But I could see the thought process behind hiring a younger, hungrier coach than a retread like Adelman, and one with a record of some success (with the most talented player in the league, in a weak conference, but still.)
But the Laker brass really has to look at this guy and ask themselves:
Does he have a system that makes sense? Does he inspire his players to play their best? Does the team look loose, energetic, and hungry? Does he understand how to manage veteran players? Does he help young players develop? Does he have any continuity whatsoever in his lineups, rotations, assistant coaches? Does he put an exciting product on the floor?
The answer to all of those questions is a crushing “no”, and doesn’t look like it’s turning around any time soon. Westhead got 11 games in ’82 before getting canned, and he at least had led the team to a championship two years before.
Dave M. says
Sooo…… I got nothing. Team’s pretty much playing to its record.
Joe M says
D’Antoni, you kidding? Lakers can’t be a team that just tries to outscore their opponents and give up 120 points a game. They need PJ, but not very likely to happen.
jodial says
And a lot of this is on the players as well, but a lot of these guys were playing well last year, on other teams (especially if you include Gasol with the Spanish national team). What does that tell you about their current environment?
Kevin_ says
Zirk: There tired of losing but everybody’s anger doesn’t pop off the screen like Kobe’s. Everybody may be pressing feeling the pressure. They have to find what works on offense and defense and do it over and over and over and over until somebody stops them. Like Darius said simplify things because what their doing currently isn’t working.
Rt says
I’m not counting Phil as even a remote possibility. And that’s the point I was trying to make – D’Antoni is by no means my recommendation as the solution to our problems. I’m just advocating for change, even if it has to be D’Antoni.
(Also, we’ve BEEN giving up 120 points a game… under a defensive specialist, no less.)
Darius Soriano says
The game recap is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2012/11/07/lakersjazz-one-game-winning-streak-snapped/
Scorchee says
jodial November 7, 2012 at 9:10 pm
And a lot of this is on the players as well, but a lot of these guys were playing well last year, on other teams (especially if you include Gasol with the Spanish national team). What does that tell you about their current environment?
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Oh, remember, Pau had a bad games with a coach who can’t utilize his player’s strengths… must be Pau’s fault… Let’s grill him!!! :/
Shaun says
Ko we cant get a lottery pick we traded all of our picks unless there is some level of protection im not aware of
azzemoto says
MB has just been given the kiss of death by the front office when JB said that his job is not in jeopardy. Tick-Doc. Tick-Doc…