I know the Lakers had problems at one time when it came to their supporting cast stepping up but guess what they stepped up and when they did Kobe and Shaq being doubled and tripled ceased somewhat. Fisher vs Alston Come on it's a disgrace to even mention Rafer's name and Fishers in the same sentence. Fox vs Battier Fox had better offense in his time but battier has better defense eventhough I think Battier's D is somewhat overrated but his D is good. I feel the same way about Fox's offense. Horry vs Hayes Horry is taller, more athletic, better shooter he is everything Hayes is not and won't be. Hayes is good at taking charges and rebounding doing dirty work ect... Horry wins no comparison really. The whole point of this is to say our supporting cast around Yao and Tracy in the starting 5 is disgraceful. If we were playing great defense you could cover that up but teams like Utah in the playoffs will expose that truth anyway so why cover it up just do what you got to do to fix it. Bench Rafer and Hayes and start Francis and Scola. Solution?
Shaq and Kobe were WAY better than Yao and Tracy. Not even close. A couple of seasons one could argue they were the best two players in the NBA. This is the primary difference between us and the Lakers, not the role players. Granted, those Lakers' role players did play well come playoff time. I agree with your proposed solution for us.
I hate to say it but the biggest difference lies within their 2 stars and not the role players. At the time, Kobe and Shaq were better than Yao and T-Mac now.
Rafer vs Fisher and Battier vs Fox makes sense. But why compare Horry and Chuck? They seem to be very different types of players to me. I think A.C. Green is a more appropriate comparison. He started for them in the 99-00 season, playing 23 mpg.
The solution? Took Beno Udrih about a week to move into the starting PG spot over Orien Greene, and a month later Beno is averaging 17.2 points per game in the last four Kings' matchups. Two of which were against the Spurs and Rockets – both wins for Kings. The Kings could not be happier with Beno's play. It is time to make a deal for Mike Bibby. What better PG could you have for Adleman's system?
I would much rather compare our "best" role players with them. That would be: SF - DF: Derek Fisher was more reliable and could hit the outside shot. SF is more talented though, and if he can get his game bet could be the better player. Battier - Fox: With Battier hitting his open shots and doing his mini hook shots from time to time I would call this pretty even. The way he plays right now, Battier is way behind Fox. Scola - Horry: Horry is more clutch and more reliable in almost every part of the game. However when Scola adjusts to the NBA and has more 15 - 10 nights, he could still be very valuable. But the thing we are most missing are clutch players! T-Mac can be, but most of the time he isn`t, Yao is too TO prone. Battier sometimes is, but you can`t count on him. Luther was last year, but didn`t really show up this year. The only one remotedly clutch this year seems to be SF, but his outside shot isn`t falling so far. We are still at least one step away from being a championship contender, and I think that would be a great and quick guard, that can defend quick PGs and penetrate, as well as shooting the outside shot at a good percentage (other than getting into the RA offense).
Yao can not touch Shaq in his prime. That and our role players cant shoot at all. We are basically the homeless man's version of the Shaq and Kobe Lakers.
Shaq: Heat Relying Too Much On Jump Shots Posted: 12/3/2007 4:03:00 AM Source: Miami Herald Heat center Shaquille O'Neal wasn't defiant. But he made his point clear when he questioned why the offense seems to go away from him for stretches late in games. The latest example for O'Neal came in Friday's 95-85 loss to the Celtics, when O'Neal made 6 of 7 shots from the field and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. But it was the fourth time in 15 games O'Neal attempted fewer than 10 shots. He said the team is too reliant on jump shots at times. ''I only had the chance to take seven shots and I hit six of them -- it was a jump-shot game for us,'' O'Neal said. Hmmm this sounds eerily like Yao of last year. http://www.miamiherald.com/594/story/328729.html Our big man isn't the only one with problems.
Shaq and Kobe > TMac and Yao Lakers role players > Rockets role players No comparison really. Look these guys won three championships in a row! THREE! We can't get out of the first round. The difference is that they were just a whole lot better than we currently are.
Derek Fisher and Rafer Alston comparison is a crime against humanity. If you think Battier is a better defensive player than Rick Fox was, you should go back and see how Fox used to shut down Peja in the playoffs. Fox also had a very special quality that Bruce Bowen has. He used to get inside the player's head he was defending. Fox was also very capable of creating his own offense. The only similarity between Horry and Hayes is that they both begin with 'H'. It's time for Horry to take a page out of Barkley's book and ask, "Chuck who?!" Now if you shift the attention to the stars then, both Kobe and Shaq were better than Tmac and Yao. Talent wise, yes. But, the biggest difference is the mental toughness. Shaq and Kobe have killer mentality and have risen to occasion. Our stars have failed to do so. Since neither our starters, nor the role players are better than those Lakers, how can we improve the team? By bringing in a 3rd star to help Yao and Tmac and settling for only 1 handicap in the starting lineup at most, instead of the 3 we have now. Problem is, Rockets have been living in denial for last couple of years, thinking they are inches away from conquering the world. Tmac thinks every new year beings the best team he has ever been on because Rockets added a "Stromile" to the team.
Fox was with Venessa Williams and Horry made blockbuster movies and rap albums. We don't have that type of glamour now.
Fox wasn't much, if any, better defensively than Shane. But he did have a special knack for getting in Peja's weak head in the playoffs. Then again, Peja may have choked anyway.
all the guys mentioned(lakers), were excellent entry passers. They knew when and how to feed the ball in the low post.
