Dwight kills them with the free throws, they can't force feed him the ball in the fourth. His defense was unreal though. Pau is like a sift on defense and Nash played such an appalling game he shouldn't have been out there in the fourth, and Ray Allen made the Lakers pay. Pau, Nash and Kobe on the court together is just too much defensive liabilities. Kobe has definitely stepped it up, and he's fantastic when he's ball-hawking but there's too many miscomms between him and Nash, and Nash and Gasol just suck balls on defense.
Great game for the Lakers against the Heat even though they lost, but it will be very tough for them to continue this intensity every night. Kobe is wearing himself out and his efficiency will begin to tail off. That was 43 hard minutes. I'm beginning to think trading Pau will be addition by subtraction and what they get back for him doesn't matter much. Just getting a rotation-worthy PF in return is enough. A couple more games should change Nash's mind on playing with Pau. He's either lost his will to compete hard over long periods of time or he simply can't play with Dwight.
Starting Sunday, Lakers have 3 road games in 4 nights: Sun, Jan 20: At Toronto Tue, Jan 21: At Chicago Wed, Jan 23: At Memphis I can see them going anywhere from 3-0 to 0-3 because each opponent runs hot and cold, just like the Lakers. They should be able to put away the Raptors.
oh my god, LBJ, 17 out of 25, only 1 three-pointer, all the rest are all about penetration and dunks off lakers' non-existence defense and turnovers, 19 turnovers from Lakers really help LBJ to score easier.
Pau played some lazy D but overall nice audition for the Raptors. Let those Bargnani+Calderon rumors start anew.
Pau doesn't look half bad as the main option in the post for (nearly) full game. I really wish he got traded. Even if it's to some team like the Wizards. I never liked him much because he hurt my national team (Lithuania) so much. But he doesn't deserve this nonsense in LA. Just like I felt sorry for KG in 'Sota, I feel sorry for Pau under D'Antoni now.
The Lakers really resembled the Rockets of late, just with bigger names, center not having good hands and not hitting FTs and constantly in foul trouble to cover up the bad D by other players, PG having to defer to the SG and not having the ball most of time, SG dominating the ball and shots and bricking and playing non existent D, everyone else wants to do too much and not picking their spots and hitting their shots, the coach's gameplan is playing small ball, no post play, live and die by 3 ball, and does not peach D and is powerless to call out his "star".
hehe. well, he had more touches. probably some 8-10. but he got blocked, he turned it over, he got fouled. Not quite Dwight's day.
The Lakers would be so much better if Kobe sat out. They would have clearly defined roles and play to their strength, which is their interior size. Even when Kobe is efficient, the team suffers because their other stars are reduced to role players. And when Kobe is inefficient, fuggedaboudit.
