what in the world is wrong with the Lakes

hey-what happened to Mr. Laker--TJ??? I would think he would have alot of insight on this topic.

Here's Adrian Wojo's thoughts on Phil etal:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-jacksonlakers010411

And yet another chapter in "As The Laker Fans' Stomachs Turn"

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Three-Lakers-overslept-due-to-faulty-iPhones?urn=nba-303601

bob

.

It appears that TJ has left the board. It may be a coincidence that he has not posted in two or three weeks. But he was involved in a flareup and then disappeared—at least for the present.

Sam

@bobheck

Just read Adrian's article and found it spot on...doode is going to have to coach this year and I love it when some of his arrogance gets slapped out of him.

His act is worn very thin but he is tolerated around the nba because he wins. He wont find the same welcome the SECOND he starts losing and a lot of the crap he has talked will at long last come back around on him.

His comments about the Rockets and Spurs show a petty man without humility and reveal his true character.

jeb wrote:@bobheck

Just read Adrian's article and found it spot on...doode is going to have to coach this year and I love it when some of his arrogance gets slapped out of him.

His act is worn very thin but he is tolerated around the nba because he wins. He wont find the same welcome the SECOND he starts losing and a lot of the crap he has talked will at long last come back around on him.

His comments about the Rockets and Spurs show a petty man without humility and reveal his true character.

jeb,

It's uncanny how often Adrian nails things. He's really good.

Phil's problem now is that he's the victim of his own success. Kobe a HOFer. Gasol may or may not be in the HOF but he has multiple championships and Artest got his too. Hell, even Bynum has two and showed he'll play in pain last playoffs. These are not men you berate publicly like children. Coaching in the press is insecure Mickey Mouse stuff by someone who doesn't want to look a man in the eye and tell them directly (and have to stand there and take it back) and it wears on people after a while.

I loved Mark Cuban's response, about how Phil is Jeannie Buss's "boy toy". Too freaking funny.

bob

.

Lakers in a tight one at the half at Phoenix tonight, trailing by one.

Amazingly, reserve Jared Dudley has outscored Kobe, Gasol and Bynum combined so far 19 to 18.

Matt Barnes will undergo knee surgery for a torn lateral miniscus. He is expected to miss a few weeks (but what will he be like upon his return?).

Kobe, Artest and Luke Walton will play more minutes in his stead. The Lakers are recalling Devin Ebanks from D-League.

Kobe's playing 33 mpg this season. That's 3-4 fewer than usual, but he's coming off of knee surgery and he has stated that he has "little to no cartilage under his kneecap. It's almost bone-on-bone". I'm not sure playing him more minutes is the way to go. Let Artest or Walton carry it, I say.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2011/01/09/lakers_barnes_likely_to_have_knee_surgery_tuesday/


bob

.

they looked good last night...bynum played BIG and Gasol wasnt so passive.

Good team effort by them

classic nba

lakers n heat now whupping ass and we are in the k hole.

I contend that is what makes all of this so fun.

cheers yall

The Logo speaks:

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6053767

bob

.

Wow, something really snuck up on me. I've heard so much about the Celtics' age (mostly from BDC Lakers fanatics—especially GreenKiller and his dynasty of the future remarks) that I was shocked to see that 10 of the Lakers' players are at least age 30. Meanwhile, only six Celtics fall into that category according to Basketball reference. (One of them,Quis, just turned 30.)

It was particularly interesting to see Sasha and Farmar given credit for being dynamic catalysts of the past who have not necessarily been replaced by similar players. That got me to wondering which group of oldsters has dived for the most loose balls and otherwise exhibited Tommy Point kinds of energy—the Celtics' seniors or the Lakers' seniors. I don't watch the Lakers enough, but I can only think of Shaq's header into the crowd a couple of games ago and Paul Pierce's crowd dive perhaps two weeks ago, when he actually took a slug of a fan's soda before running back on the floor.

I also found myself wondering how injuries may have affected the Lakers compared with the Celtics. So I looked at the 11 players on each team who I think comprise the respective rotations (I omitted Semih and Sasha because I think each of them has had a number of DNP-CDs). To date, the Lakers have six players who have played in all 45 of their games, and they've lost 86 player games to injury. The Celtics have five players who have played in all 43 of their games, and they've lost 137 player games to injury.

I find it impossible to dismiss the Lakers as strong contenders because they're the champions and so many of them are thoroughbreds. Beside, Celtics-Lakers is the mecca in the finals as far as I'm concerned. But I'm just wondering how many of those Lakers thoroughbreds are performing somewhat like Clydesdales this season.

Sam

Sam,

Your last sentence was: "But I'm just wondering how many of those Lakers thoroughbreds are performing somewhat like Clydesdales this season."

LA is having a very similar season to the one they had last year. They have 13 losses this year and this time last year they had 11. They are not the team of the younger Shaq/Kobe years but they are still championship contenders. When you compare the stats for their top players from last year to this year, they are quite similar except for the offensive drop off from Artest. With Barnes out, Artest is picking up the scoring in the month of January.
Jerry West today made an obvious statement about LA's defense. He is 100% correct. LA is becoming slower and less athletic each year and it is mostly noticable on the defensive end of the court. I don't worry about it for this year or next year because the slow pace of the game in the playoffs is exactly what LA is looking for. They don't have thoroughbreds or clydesdales in the regular season. Golden State, OKC and Phoenix have those type of players. LA is not going to stress out over losing some regular season games just because they fear not being able to win a road playoff game.
Without an infusion of young, athletic and talented players, I expect Boston and LA to have a significant drop off in games won and lose their championship contender status right around the same time, starting with the 2012-2013 season.
Boston has done a great job this year in dealing with the non-stop injuries. If they don't add a big man before the end of the season, they have a high chance of not having JO and/or Shaq for most of the post season. Odds are that Shaq won't get any healthier as the season goes on.

tjmakz wrote:Sam,

Your last sentence was: "But I'm just wondering how many of those Lakers thoroughbreds are performing somewhat like Clydesdales this season."

LA is having a very similar season to the one they had last year. They have 13 losses this year and this time last year they had 11. They are not the team of the younger Shaq/Kobe years but they are still championship contenders. When you compare the stats for their top players from last year to this year, they are quite similar except for the offensive drop off from Artest. With Barnes out, Artest is picking up the scoring in the month of January.
Jerry West today made an obvious statement about LA's defense. He is 100% correct. LA is becoming slower and less athletic each year and it is mostly noticable on the defensive end of the court. I don't worry about it for this year or next year because the slow pace of the game in the playoffs is exactly what LA is looking for. They don't have thoroughbreds or clydesdales in the regular season. Golden State, OKC and Phoenix have those type of players. LA is not going to stress out over losing some regular season games just because they fear not being able to win a road playoff game.
Without an infusion of young, athletic and talented players, I expect Boston and LA to have a significant drop off in games won and lose their championship contender status right around the same time, starting with the 2012-2013 season.
Boston has done a great job this year in dealing with the non-stop injuries. If they don't add a big man before the end of the season, they have a high chance of not having JO and/or Shaq for most of the post season. Odds are that Shaq won't get any healthier as the season goes on.

Shaq will certainly be healthier than he is now.

TJ,

I hear you. And, by 2012-13, this could be a very different league.

Although stats may be convenient tools make year-to-year comparisons, I try not to place too much emphasis on them. There are so many "intervening variables" involved, such as the caliber of the competition at a given point in the season, the proportion of home games that have been played, etc.

I think each of us develops a sort of "feel" for non-statistical factors such as the resilience of the team (s)he supports, the team's ability to snap back after tough losses, the versatility, etc., etc.,etc. I'm sure you have a much better "feel" for the Lakers than I do; I don't pretend to follow them the way you seem to follow the Celtics. I was a bit surprised to see not only a lot of West's comments but also the agreement of others with some of those comments. Obviously, a key factor is a team's ability not only to diagnose any problems that may exist but also the ability to do something about it.

At the end of the season, barring some tragic health issues, I hope to see the both the Celtics and Lakers in the championship mix.

Sam

I think Phil is using this as an opportunity to "coach through the press", which he has done for years. I think this comment by Jerry West gave him an opening to needle his players without having to be the bad guy to do it. He's just agreeing with Jerry West and nobody fights Jerry West, right? Even the Laker players, who disagreed with West, were very careful to do it as respectfully as they could.

While I doubt Phil's sincerity I do not question West's. I believe he truly believes what he said is the truth. I think Phil is trying to "work his players".

Having said all this, I must say I don't agree with Jerry West. Thirty is not some magic number that, once you cross it, it's like flipping a switch on your body. It's an arbitrary date, that's all. Furthermore, the doddering oldsters of Boston have one of, if not the, best defense in the NBA. Apparently, youth isn't a requirement for playing hard-nosed, well-coordinated team defense.

The Spurs have only 7 losses, the Lakers have 13. I think the Lakers have given up on trying to catch San Antonio for the #1 seed and aren't really worried about OKC and the rest of the west when it comes to March and you really have to finish strong. So, I think the Lakers are suffering a little bit from what ailed the Celtics last year at this time of year, they're bored. That ennui will not be apparent, I have NO doubt, come April.

bob


.

bob,

Excellent points. I think Phil will use West's comments as a motivational tool.
LA's team age is overblown because many of their bench guys are much older (Ratliff 37, Smith 35, Fisher 36 PT Player) but the games played by LA's players is the key. Kobe/Fisher/Gasol have logged many more games then most in the league.

LA is bored and will probably coast to the playoffs. They lost 7 of their last 11 hames last year and then picked it up in the playoffs.

Ultimately, still the team to beat IMHO, tjmakz...only major injuries would change that in my book. It remains to be proven that the C's or Miami or Orlando have done enough to take em. It's hard for me to believe SA will take them, I think LA's biggest enemy may ultimately be trying to turn the focus back on at the end...sometimes that isn't so easy.

This isn't about "what's wrong with the Lakers", but it is about how pumped up the Celtics are about this Sunday's game.

http://redsarmy.com/

In case you didn't know, the Celtics' all-time W-L record against the Lakers (including Minneapolis) is 152-120.

bob


.

I wondered what that was Bob, thanks...beautiful, also let's not forget 9-3...should have been 10-2, hoping it is soon 10-3.

FYI, there are only 6 teams in the history of the NBA, that the Celtics have a losing record against. There are a few they are tied with (The Waterloo Hawks, The Sheboygan Redskins and the never to be forgotten Providence Steamrollers).

http://www.celticstats.com/versus/team.php


bob


.

LACELTFAN wrote:I wondered what that was Bob, thanks...beautiful, also let's not forget 9-3...should have been 10-2, hoping it is soon 10-3.

laceltfan,

It's nice to see that KG has completely and totally bought into the whole Celtic Mystique and History "thing". Meeting Bill Russell was the best thing that could have happened to him.

bob

.

Of present day teams that have a winning record against the C's, of course all 3 would be relative newcomers, after the Russell years.

I agree, it was a great thing for KG and the C's...
I vacillate between believing that it is meaningful and meaningless myself.
I used to believe that it might attract special players, especially if the C's treat the oldtimers like family (don't know if they do or don't). My thinking was...everyone has money and other perks to hand over to the player but what sets the C's and the Lakes apart is that winning tradition.
Although maybe everyone doesn't have the money anymore...I keep hearing about the NBA collapsing some of it's franchises.

If the Lakers need some kind of catalyst to jolt them into pre-playoff mentality, I can't think of anything that would be as powerful as beating the Celtics on Sunday. On the other hand, wouldn't the Celtics love to move on (figuratively) from the sting of Game 7? I expect a highly spirited game.

I just hope there are no injuries on either side.

Sam

jeb wrote:I expect San Antonio to fight them fang and claw and right now would call it a draw inna 7 game series with the home court being awful important.

I would think with Bynum in there that the Lakes would be a tad too big for the Spurs but Gasol has gone back to being very passive and hesitant. The lack of teamwork affects pau the worst i think.

Kobe will get better and healthier i THINK but i am starting to wonder if his health issues are not season long. If Kobe goes back to passing and unselfish play I think the lakes can pull right outta this and get back to the finals. But Kobe has to do that or they face implosion.

The new guys Blake and Barnes are both gamers and king hell gym rats but lack athleticism and hence the ability to freelance if things break down.

Wonder if Joe Smith will help them? I cant effin BELIEVE how bad their body language was out there tonight.

It must be driving Sky and MG nuts. Or hell maybe they are not worried about it at all. I guess it's like they felt watching our regular season unfold last year.

jeb

Hey buddy-


I think the Lakers just don't care about the regular season. After three straight Finals trips and back to back titles, they are bored out of their minds by the reg season, and I think a bit mentally tired. They are definitely pacing themselves and simply do not focus most of the time. The games when they do have focus have been very noticeable and obvious, and the games where they completely phone it in have also been very noticeable. They've got five losses vs sub-500 teams at home. Just an absolute lack of effort and focus on those nights.


From what I've seen of the Cs, they seem to be on a similar path. Excellent when motivated (the Miami games), losing games they should never lose (Clev, Toronto, OKC w/o Durant and Westbrook, etc). From a distance, the difference in their records so far really comes down to the fact that the Cs have pulled some close ones out when they played bad but got just enough to win (Mil, Chi, @ Memphis, etc).


If fully healthy, I have no doubt we'll see these two teams in the Finals, no matter who has HCA in either conference. Miami can't beat Boston, and I doubt Chicago or Orlando can either if the Cs are healthy- no matter who has home court.

And although I respect the Spurs a great deal, and think Dallas, OKC and NO are all tough, I'm not losing any sleep about facing any of them in a seven game series- with or without HCA. I expect the LAkers in the Finals again, matched up vs the Cs again.


Phil's never had a repeat champion Lakers team that had HCA. '01, '02 and last year other teams had it. He's all about pacing them, and although it's frustrating as a fan, it clearly works. Doc seems to be doing much the same thing, even though neither one of them can come right out and say that the regular season is meaningless.


If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but since the Lakers are sleepwalking through the reg season, I'm going to also.


See you in the Finals.