Is it just me that realizes our starting small forward Ariza is practically useless and overrated? This guy has no offense other than the inconsistent spot up three. His drives to the basket make me cringe. His defense while still good is deteriorating. The guy doesn't know how to how to pass or assist in the paint at all. Ariza can be a 0 dimensional player at times. I would have him off the bench but not starting!
I won't be miserable if we really suck. At least we get a good draft pick out of it(although Les and Morey may still screw that up). What will make me mad is if we wind up like last season hovering around .500.
I think some make really good points, but at the end of the day its just one game so it doesn't bother me that we lost. I would lose faith 30 games into the season if nothing changes. Few observations. 1. The Lakers are a really nice team. I was pleasantly surprised and think they will get into top 8 in west. Not gonna go into specific players, but they have 4-5 guys who will make a difference. 2. Harden at point, this is his natural position and fits him 100%. Only problem is he can't play 40 minutes at point, at that pace. No one can't! 3. Concerned a bit at center. I think Capela can't play more than 30 minutes for now, and unfortunately Nene hasn't shown much, again its just one game, but am concerned about Nene and his age. 4. I don't think Ennis is ready to play his part. Probably best to give his minutes to Gordon/ Brown 5. I think we played better D than most of last year, but it just wasn't enough. Also the Lakers had a great shooting day 6. Brewer can go if you ask me/ I always defended Ariza, but if we can package them both for a solid replacement, do it. I'm getting a headache of seeing Brew messing up layup after layup...
lakers are going to struggle to win 25 games and that defense displayed last night was worse than last year. not even close
A real fan doesn't need to "spend money" to get disappointed. You need some common sense buddy. I would gladly watch them all for free if I lived in Houston. You probably watch em for free or got duped with league pass hence your comment
My sentiments EXACTLY! Anyone who believed that this was a good move should immediately check themselves into rehab for red koolaid addiction. As I watched the game unfold, it became obvious that their style of play makes it extremely difficult to hold a lead and if an opposing team can rebound, play defense and keep it close, they will have a legitimate shot at winning the game. But this is the style of basketball that Les wanted when he hired D'Antoni so folks had better get used to seeing this happen.
This. Crap defense should not have been surprising. I'm more concerned with the way the late game offense devolved into last year's.
more this. assists dried up, we went to hero-chucking and ISO Harden. Unlike others, I think this unit can learn to play *average* defense, which is all they need. I also agree with others that that Laker team played absolute LIGHTS OUT, as if they were celebrating Kobe having Dorothy's house fall on him in Oz. So I'm pretty confident . . . 41-41 is well within our grasp, as is the 8th seed.
Is it due to Harden's style of play? Is it due to the players being gassed and not being able to hit anything close to the rim? Is it due to the lineups D'Antoni threw out there at times?
How can anyone who watched the game last night say it was same ol' same ol'?? There was clearly more player movement on offense, and the defensive effort was there. But you still have to put the ball in the basket. Running the play perfectly, making the right pass, but missing the open shot is a recipe to lose. There was a possession late in the fourth quarter where Nene hit a shot off the backboard. Mark Jackson said it was good defense by the Lakers, and a bad shot for the Rockets. But that possession, the Rockets won with a basket. The Lakers had a LOT of those last night. Half the Lakers guards were acting like Steph Curry bombing away with the defender outside the 3point line. And they were hitting them. This is the kind of game that if it were happening to you playing NBA2K you go and hit the reset button muttering a few expletives with the word bull in it. Last year the Milwaukee Bucks won a big game against the Warriors. They weren't a better team. But for one game, they rose up and did what it took to win. Just like the Lakers last night.
my how it's going to be a long season for you if you actually thought any type of defensive effort was there for more than a handlful of plays last night
MDA shouldn't have let Harden rest so much in the 4th to the point that when he did came in he probably felt he had to press. I mean at least MDA doesn't sit around until the team gets down by 10+ like our old coaches but once we went down 2 late it felt like a 10 point lead with how the Lakers were shooting. At the end of the day this team scored enough to win the game...but this game came down to getting stops. That last lineup with Nene in and Gordon probably should have been replaced by Capela and KJ. I think also we have to remember. Steve Kerr is a MDA run/gun disciple...so that means Luke is too. The Lakers basically did what we did and did it better. That won't happen every night, hopefully some nights most teams won't be able to catch up.
