lakers lose 4th inna row

jeb wrote:sky

Well said as usual. If the Lakers show up are engaged and play right its a rematch in the finals. When they dont they can both be had.

Why do you think Phil is choosing to grind Pau down? To prove a point to Bynum?

I think guilting Bynum is part of it, toughening up Pau is another (although unnecessary) aspect of it, and also, I think he was hoping to get the FO to sign someone. Considering how much money BUss is spending on this team already, the Lakers have been penny-wise/ pound foolish not signing a vet min guy or D leaguer on a weekly deal. 12 mpg off of Pau would make a huge difference, and the additional money would have been a drop in the ocean vs the overall payroll.


Personally, I think they made a mistake not signing Dampier when they had the chance. He would have been helpful off the bench. Lakers seem to be assuming that Bynum will be 100% healthy for the Finals, which is a dangerous assumption given past history. If Bynum is banged up again, I'd feel a lot better about Dampier wrestling around with Shaq for 20 mpg than Theo Ratliff.

But I was wrong about the need to bring in Kirk Hinrich last year, as the Lakers dodged a bullet and won with no reliable backup to DFish, so I'm hoping that I'll be wrong again and they'll be proven right again this year.



Gotta go- talk to you soon Jeb.



And PS- Noah is a physical player.

He's strong, despite his build. He's obviously no Shaq, but anyone who watches the Bulls (or even if they'd just watched the Bulls-Lakers game) can see how Noah used physicality to make for a tough night for Pau. Noah can't do that to guys like Shaq or Bynum, as they're just too big, but vs someone where he's in the same weight class (like Pau), Noah is very good at wrestling for post position and keeping guys off their spots.

He's also relentless, which, combined with Pau not getting any real second half rest, makes it tougher as the game goes on and Noah keeps grinding while Pau was getting tired.

jeb wrote:If you can think of any more physical centers, I am listening.


tjmakz


What does that have to do with what we are saying?

Your point of Gasol not being able to bang with physical centers is basically meaningless becaue those guys don't exist anymore.
Gasol is an All-Star center even though he is not an overly tough player.

Two weeks ago when asked about playing 40 minutes a game Pau said he wants to play 40 minutes and doesn't need to rest more.
Phil is playing him that much because they don't have Bynum or a back up center.
Pau is playing 2.4 minutes/game more then last year.
Ray Allen, Pierce, Garnett and Rondo are all playing more then last year.
Why is everyone alarmed because Pau is up 2.4 minutes/game while Bynum is out?
Kobe is down 5.2 minutes per game from last year.

TJ,

I don't believe a lot of people on this board are alarmed at that fact. I think they're rather happy that a thin front line might be surfacing as a potential vulnerability of a dangerous competitor. They're also happy that problems in the middle and lack of ready chemistry might be surfacing as a potential vulnerability of another dangerous competitor from the South.

Just as they were sad when the loss of Delonte once again threw the Ray's minutes into some doubt.

These are natural artifacts of a competitive environment.

Sam

bsh

i concur on Noah...across the board. Great words by you. Do you remember his old man? Helluva tennis player.

"Your point of Gasol not being able to bang with physical centers is basically meaningless becaue those guys don't exist anymore."

meaningless to you TJ. Not to me. I HOPE Gasol plays center all year. Against those spindly nba centers. There wont be anything left of him by mid April.

Outside

Gasol owned Ticket last year and talked a ton of shit while doing it.

My guess is Pau is above the line at the very top of KG's to do list now that he has his health back.

Look forward to watchin them SETTLE it this year.

LOL, Gasol "talked a ton of s**t"? The only thing I remember is a media-manufactured single "incident." Talking "stuff" isn't Gasol's style, at all. Gasol gave a relatively nuanced (and in my view, accurate) answer to a question about KG, and the media reported one snippet and portrayed it like Gasol didn't respect KG, which was completely false.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5256067

One thing we can agree on is that we'd both like to see the Celtics and Lakers again in the finals. As far as I'm concerned, they're the two best teams and have the best chance to be there if they're healthy. As an NBA fan, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Outside

Well reasoned and thoughtful as usual. Made me pause and think and I like that.
I guess two people can perceive the same thing very different eh? Or else we wouldnt have much to talk about.

I'll put it this way for you. WATCH Kg when he plays Gasol this year and see if he brings something extra to the party. My guess is he will.

best regards

jeb

Guaranteed salary for this year and the next three years: 2010 - $6.3 mil, 2011 - $6.8 mil, 2012 - $7.3 mil, 2013 - $7.7 mil.

Points per game 2007-2008: 20.5
2008-2009: 17.1
2009-2010: 11.0
2010-2011: 8.7

Rebounds per game 2007-2008: 5.8
2008-2009: 5.2
2009-2010: 4.3
2010-2011: 3.3

Assists per game 2007-2008: 3.5
2008-2009: 3.3
2009-2010: 3.0
2010-2011: 1.8

Field goal percentage 2007-2008: .453
2008-2009: .401
2009-2010: .414
2010-2011: .396

Age of player now: 31

Player's name: Ron Artest

Houston, we have a problem. Actually, LA, we have a problem. Houston got rid of him. He's LA's problem now.

well hell steve Artest is also the reason...the main reason they won game 7

Im not "worried" about the Lakers. They will be around and come back.

If anything it is just similar to what we experienced last season and that got us to the finals.

yup way too early for concern...but it is a weakness they have now. They will be brutal when Bynum comes back...hell swede we gotta talk about SOMETHIN roun here!

Haha I know, a lil trash is always good but the Lakers are and will be an excellent team.

I concur. They have my deep respect. They earned it.

jeb wrote:well hell steve Artest is also the reason...the main reason they won game 7

I'd say it was more Gasol but my point is, would you want his contract through 2014 based on those year-to-year declines?

jeb wrote:Outside

Well reasoned and thoughtful as usual. Made me pause and think and I like that.
I guess two people can perceive the same thing very different eh? Or else we wouldnt have much to talk about.

I'll put it this way for you. WATCH Kg when he plays Gasol this year and see if he brings something extra to the party. My guess is he will.

best regards

jeb

LOL, "Extra" is KG's middle name. He brings absolutely everything he has, and I can't help but love the way he plays. Ray is great, Rondo is amazing, Davis is one of my favorites, Doc is such a good fit for this group, and working as a team is what makes them click, but for my money, KG is the guy who elevates the Celtics to championship level. It's great to see him resemble his old self so much more than he did a year ago.

And I think you're right -- he'll bring plenty of "extra" when he plays the Lakers and goes against Gasol. My guess is that, besides everything that playing the Lakers and (if they meet there) being in the finals means, he's stewing because he knows Gasol got the better of him last year when he wasn't back physically the way he is now. Gasol better be ready to bring his best, that's for sure.

It's great to be around people who appreciate this stuff. Thanks.

Outside

Oh geez, the Lakers just lost their fourth in a row, to Houston. Make room Miami, the Lakers are comin' down for a visit in .500 land!

uh make it 4 inna row

this is getting good. Kobe just shat the bed down the stretch. They look genuinely confused out there...not playing a lick of d. Gasol was ineffective 2-8 with 8 points and 9 rebounds. Odom played 45 minutes.

Interesting.

@ Outside

we are all hoop geeks together here...glad to have you around.

jeb

Gasol has become a great player but will be mismatched against Shaq/Perk in the Finals if he's forced to play center. Lakers better pray that Bynum is better. If I were a 6'10" coach from Montana, I'd play rope a dope this year like Doc did last year and let Bynum rest and get healthy for the playoffs.

steve3344 wrote:

jeb wrote:well hell steve Artest is also the reason...the main reason they won game 7

I'd say it was more Gasol but my point is, would you want his contract through 2014 based on those year-to-year declines?

prolly not if you put it that way...but championships are sssoooooo rare. Hard call.

Bogut

jeb wrote:uh make it 4 inna row

this is getting good. Kobe just shat the bed down the stretch. They look genuinely confused out there...not playing a lick of d. Gasol was ineffective 2-8 with 8 points and 9 rebounds. Odom played 45 minutes.

Interesting.

@ Outside

we are all hoop geeks together here...glad to have you around.

jeb

Lakes outscored 27-10 the final 7:20.

Shane Battier went wild hitting back-to-back three-pointers turning a 97-94 deficit into a 100-97 lead with 2:28 to go and scoring 11 Houston points in a row from the 2:51 mark to the :41.9 mark in the fourth. Man was possessed and it was amazing to watch.

jeb wrote:

steve3344 wrote:

jeb wrote:well hell steve Artest is also the reason...the main reason they won game 7

I'd say it was more Gasol but my point is, would you want his contract through 2014 based on those year-to-year declines?

prolly not if you put it that way...but championships are sssoooooo rare. Hard call.

Artest tonight in the Laker loss to Houston: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists in 16:49. Missed both his free throw attempts. The man is disappearing before our very eyes.

steve3344 wrote:Guaranteed salary for this year and the next three years: 2010 - $6.3 mil, 2011 - $6.8 mil, 2012 - $7.3 mil, 2013 - $7.7 mil.

Points per game 2007-2008: 20.5
2008-2009: 17.1
2009-2010: 11.0
2010-2011: 8.7

Rebounds per game 2007-2008: 5.8
2008-2009: 5.2
2009-2010: 4.3
2010-2011: 3.3

Assists per game 2007-2008: 3.5
2008-2009: 3.3
2009-2010: 3.0
2010-2011: 1.8

Field goal percentage 2007-2008: .453
2008-2009: .401
2009-2010: .414
2010-2011: .396

Age of player now: 31

Player's name: Ron Artest

Houston, we have a problem. Actually, LA, we have a problem. Houston got rid of him. He's LA's problem now.

Steve,

Why don't you mention that Artest's shots per game have gone down from 17 per game to less then 9 this year.
LA's offense doesn't exactly revolve around Artest.
Artest was signed primarily for his defensive abilities.
There have been plenty of bad contracts in the NBA but Artest's is not one of them.
You should research how much the Knicks and Mavericks have spent on contracts over the last 10 years which has resulted in 0 championships.