Kobe is not THE problem, but he is apart of the problem in a big way because he plays absolutely no defense at all, and he shoots too freaking much, I don't care how many excuses people come up with, basketball has 5 guys on the court for a reason. They have a ton of issues and leadership is one. There is no leader
Definitely one of my favorite Lakers teams ever. I enjoyed the 2006 team that lost to Phoenix in the first round also. Nice to see that team have real world struggles every once in a while. I definitely try to avoid Schadenfreude in most cases, but I do not feel bad for the Lakers one bit.
Man D'antoni has got to go. Their defense gets worse every game. This guy simply is a terrible defensive coach.
Who do they hire in his place? You think D'Antoni should be fired before Pau & Nash return? Would that be fair or logical?
He had Pau. They sucked. He already has 2 superstars to operate with, and the Lakers are still losing to mediocre teams. Nash isn't going to solve their defensive woes. Sure their offense will improve, but it isn't like they're one of the worst offensive teams in the league. If what they did to Brown was fair, firing D'antoni after this is totally fair AND logical. What they need is a defensive coach. When Nash returns, they will figure it out offensively regardless of who the coach is. All those guys are too good not to fit in eventually. But their defense needs work, and that requires a coach who will force a defensive culture. Maybe they can reach out to Brian Shaw again? Or Jerry Sloan? Or JVG? or McMillan? There are a ton of guys out there who knows the value of defense, and not just spend 30 minutes on it. Pathetic.
Maybe I'm crazy... But I still see them figuring it out and doing well in the playoffs. Probably won't win it all...but I just have a feeling
My Multiple Sources tell me that the Lakers coach is changing his name, ala Metta, to Mike Antoni. Apparently he doesn't like anything to do with D associated with his name.
Pfft, they are spending a whole hour on defense. Maybe after last night's game they'll spend 35 minutes on it. He knows what he's doing.
Lakers are 9-14 I'd say it will take at least 46 wins to be 8th seed. This means LA has to go 37-22 to hit 46 wins. Can they do it? LA has 59 total games remaining LA has 28 home games & 31 road games remaining Fri. 14 at Washington Wizards Sun. 16 at Philadelphia 76ers Tue. 18 vs. Charlotte Bobcats Sat. 22 at Golden State Warriors Tue. 25 vs. New York Knicks Wed. 26 at Denver Nuggets Fri. 28 vs. Portland Trail Blazers JAN Tue. 1 vs. Philadelphia 76ers Fri. 4 at Los Angeles Clippers Sun. 6 vs. Denver Nuggets Tue. 8 at Houston Rockets Wed. 9 at San Antonio Spurs Fri. 11 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Sun. 13 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Tue. 15 vs. Milwaukee Bucks Thu. 17 vs. Miami Heat Sun. 20 at Toronto Raptors Mon. 21 at Chicago Bulls Wed. 23 at Memphis Grizzlies Fri. 25 vs. Utah Jazz Sun. 27 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Tue. 29 vs. New Orleans Hornets Wed. 30 at Phoenix Suns FEB Fri. 1 at Minnesota Timberwolves Sun. 3 at Detroit Pistons Tue. 5 at Brooklyn Nets Thu. 7 at Boston Celtics Fri. 8 at Charlotte Bobcats Sun. 10 at Miami Heat Tue. 12 vs. Phoenix Suns Thu. 14 vs. Los Angeles Clippers Wed. 20 vs. Boston Celtics Fri. 22 vs. Portland Trail Blazers Sun. 24 at Dallas Mavericks Mon. 25 at Denver Nuggets Thu. 28 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves MAR Sun. 3 vs. Atlanta Hawks Tue. 5 at Oklahoma City Thunder Wed. 6 at New Orleans Hornets Fri. 8 vs. Toronto Raptors Sun. 10 vs. Chicago Bulls Tue. 12 at Orlando Magic Wed. 13 at Atlanta Hawks Fri. 15 at Indiana Pacers Sun. 17 vs. Sacramento Kings Mon. 18 at Phoenix Suns Fri. 22 vs. Washington Wizards Mon. 25 at Golden State Warriors Wed. 27 at Minnesota Timberwolves Thu. 28 at Milwaukee Bucks Sat. 30 at Sacramento Kings APR Tue. 2 vs. Dallas Mavericks Fri. 5 vs. Memphis Grizzlies Sun. 7 at Los Angeles Clippers Tue. 9 vs. New Orleans Hornets Wed. 10 at Portland Trail Blazers Fri. 12 vs. Golden State Warriors Sun. 14 vs. San Antonio Spurs Wed. 17 vs. Houston Rockets
Why a lot of you guys constantly were bashing gasol, I personally think his absence is a key to current losses of LAL. gasol is a player who makes other peoples around him better players. For example - how many easy points were made by howard after pau's assits, and how many assists made howard to kobe? This season lal with gasol on the floor is +8.1 and -3.7 without, compare it to howard's +1.7 (on the floor) and +9.3 (without). LAL with howard on the floor struggles as he does not creates opportunities for others and there's always huge D in the paint while Pau manages to draw his defenders from the paint. source of stats: http://www.82games.com/1213/1213LAL.HTM PS. rebounding stats are too overhyped by the majority. Rebounding is more about not letting opposite team to rebound than to try grab the rebound over your teammate's head. a lot of rebounding leaders, including dwight, does that constantly. Btw, lal with pau on the court, as a team, rebounds better than with dwight.
