I actually think it's starting small forward and putting more athletes or versatile players on the overall roster. 1. Small forward, as I said in another thread, earlier. They need a versatile wing that can take some of the defensive responsibilities off of Kobe, yet is also a capable scorer or go-to option. I suggested players, like Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, or Andre Igoudala. 1A. More athletes or versatile players, players who can do multiple things, like rebound, defend different positions, and run the floor. Examples, Anthony Randolph, Josh Smith, Boris Diaw (much younger, trimmed one), Darrell Arthur, and etc. If they trade Gasol, it's needs be for youth and versatility, obvious.
Lakers were disjointed throughout the playoffs. wow, Pau Gasol was invisible. Bynum tried his best. Kobe was vintage Kobe. But not enough.
Meanwhile, Gasol looked incredibly sad while Derek Fisher hugged him near the Lakers' bench and talked to him privately after the game. LOL, buh-bye Gasol. Lakers weakness at bench killed them.
Happy the Lakers lost, terrified that unloading Pau could make them instant competitors again. (with a little reacharound from Stern)
Gasol was looking for his shot, since Kobe called him - but missing 9 out of 14 made it pointless. -->I don't know what kind of haul you're even looking at with him at this point. He looks like he's past his prime, isn't a strong player on either end of the court, and needs to be publicly intimidated by a superstar to play with effort. Bynum - popped open another can of dontcare. Artest - non-factor Sessions - cementing the fact that if he opts out looking for a new deal, he's the biggest idiot in sports. Kobe - trying the only why he knows how...which is why he never caught Jordan. Bynum-Gasol for Dwight might work if Bynum agrees to an extension as a condition to the deal. But LA's issues go past that. You would have Dwight, aging Kobe, and a pile of rubbish. Stay classy, visiting LA fans
That'll just about do it for the Lakers in terms of contending for the rest of Kobe's tenure. Now, if only the Spurs would finally collapse once and for all.
Kobe to Miami for DWade. Replace Spoelstra with PJ. Run triangle with Bosh, LBJ and Kobe. Kobe gets his 6th ring (coincidentally where shaq got his ring post-LA) and Lebron gets that monkey off his back. Lebron defers the ball to Kobe in the second half and Lebron controls the first half. SacTown has a heart attack.
And that was the key to this series. The entire Lakers strategy was predicated on forcing other teams to double their bigs thereby freeing up the other guys especially Kobe. Well, OKC didn't have to do that and their bigs were able to play the Laker bigs straight up which allowed the OKC defense to concentrate on Kobe. Sure he got his points but they made him really really work for them. Once I saw that happening, I knew it was only a matter of time in this series. Kobe will make sure that Mike Brown takes the fall for this crash and burn. It made me so happy to see that POS Ron Artest lose - I have had my fill of him and welcome the day when he's out of the league for good. Still haven't forgiven Morey for trading his sorry a**.
OKC defense to focus on him? Kobe got tons of 1-1 looks this series. He just can't get by people anymore on a consistent basis and the Thunder have 3 wing defenders who aren't undersized. Kobe took "tough shots" because that's pretty much all he can get these days (jumpers).
Lakers should trade gasol for josh smith. Def help both teams, the hawks could move horford to Pf and gasol to center. Lakers get athletic and get more spacing in the paint for Bynum. Honestly that's the best they could get for gasol and hawks need to move j smoove because he expires and has let it be known he's leaving.
Kobe got 31.2 PPG on 42.6% shooting, that's not bad consider he took all bail out shots. At the same time he contained Harden for 16 PPG on 35.8%/25.0% shooting. Kobe's responsible for two late collapses. Other than that, he did what he's supposed to do, on both ends of the floor. Lakers' biggest issue ain't Kobe. It's Gasol who can't stretch the floor and Bynum who can't keep his head in the game.
High salary Aging player No trade clause Takes too many low bball IQ shots that causes lead collapses and losses Might not be the biggest issue, but he is definitely one of them
LOL. He played this way and got his two rings at 30s. He had good team but he didn't have superfriends. A borderline all star was enough to get him to the promising land. Talk about BB IQ.
When he played that way and won he wasn't shooting as poorly. That also coincided with his bigs, mainly Gasol, being dominant. If anything, the last 2 postseasons showed us how much LA and Kobe relied on Gasol playing at a high level.
