Beating Phoenix today, they really impressed me. Its kinda sad as a Rocket fan, however, I must give credit where credit is due. Within a yr or two, I think Bynum will begin to start matching Yao's numbers. They have ALOT of depth at every position, with the exception of SG, but hey Kobe has the heart of a lion unlike Tmac and can play 40+ minutes throughout the season. But seriously, think about it, they have PG depth with FIsher and Farmar. At SF they have Ariza, Radmonovich!! Then at PF you have Odom, Turiaf. And they have a ton of size at the Center with Bynum, Mihm, and Kwame Brown. They really don't have any weaknesses now. Their GM has probably drafted better than any other GM in the last few years. Bynum, Farmar, Crittenten....Mitch Kupcheck has done a real nice job. I think they def will advance to the conference semi's this yr, maybe even the WCF!!!
I think the Lakers are good, but I am still hesitant about how good they can be because: 1. Lamar Odom: He is such a rare talent in that he is essentially a SF-guard. He has insane ball-control, great version, but for some strange reason, he can't put it all together. If he can be more consistent with his offense, he will be a triple-double threat every night. Problem is, at times he seems like his head is not in the game or he is shying away from the spotlight. 2. The Power Forward position: This is a problem they face, similar to us. Turiaf is their version of Chuck and like Chuck, he is going to have trouble because teams will leave him open all night. Need a solution. 3. There bench is a bit weak still. Need to add a couple more players. Farmer and Ariza are great, but then what? Sasha is too inconsistent and Mihm and Brown are injury-prone. But taking all that into account, the are this year's version of the Rockets from a year ago. However, I want to see how things go in the second half because they were in a similar spot last year and the wheels came off later in the season.
Seriously, is this a joke? Naming a bunch of trash does not illustrate having "depth." They are a decent team on a hot streak, headed nowhere. Blah.
dude....turiaf is so much better than chuck offensively... turiaf is a BEAST. he goes right up and mashes it with two hands at every opportunity. he can actually catch a pass and finish strong, that alone makes him better than hayes. wouldnt mind him next to yao..... chuck has got to go and weak bench ? they have probably the strongest bench in the league right now... kobe will probably make it out of the first round this year, especially if the lakers get that 5th seed.
We've filled all our talent deficiencies Shooters- Vlad, Fisher, Sasha Slashers- Ariza, Farmar, Kobe Post players- Bynum, Odom, Kobe Play makers- Farmar, Odom, walton, Bryant Vet leadership- Fisher, Bryant Shotblockers- Bynum, Turiaf The big reason why we've improved is Andrew Bynum and farmar. Andrew has turned into a stud. He impacts the game more than YAO imo. Teams don't run and try and penetrate, he alters so many shots and Swats 2 shots a game. A monster inside, dunking and finishing he ever things. His whole defensive game has improved, rebounding is elite and even his man defense has been impressive (shut down Kaman, Played Dwight amazingly). Stunning 2 way play from the 20 year old. A top 3 Center easily, Only Dwight and Yao are better than him. He destroyed Kaman and Camby. Farmar's a stud too. He has been average lately but he leads the laker's bench mob and he leads it to perfection. Energy, Energy and Hustle. That's what he brings. Much better than William parker. Trevor Ariza was a steal. Perfect 3, slashes which fits Kobe well since he has a knack of finding slasher's. Team is athletic and shows heart. And then we have Kobe. He is the ultimate gamewinner.
I've got to agree with you. Turiaf is much better than Chuck, not even close. If I had to predict either way, my guess is the Lakers will get out of the first round. To someone else's point: I agree we should wait a while before jumping on the bandwagon. When Luke Walton, then others later, got hurt, the Lakers crashed last season. With the addition of Fisher and with Bynum and Farmar being better, that probably will not happen again. You have to appreciate just how bad their PG situation was last year. Vujacic and Radman are also playing like they belong in the NBA. JVG said yesterday he thought the Lakers would beat the Suns in a 7 game series because they are more talented. He said the Suns need a backup PG and another shooter. Mark Jackson said the Lakers were a lot more talented than the Suns. I won't make the conclusion just yet, but maybe the Western Conference big 3 will be Spurs/Mavs/Lakers. If Bynum continues getting better over the season instead of falling off a cliff like last year, the Lakers/Suns race could be close.
Mavs are not an elite team imo. They'll just choke again with a soft superstar. Right now, there is only one elite team in the west and that's the spurs. Mavs, suns, Laker's are all 2nd tier teams. In a 7 game series, i still we get beat the suns. We still have no answer to their pick and roll and we need Beastly performances by Kobe and Bynum to beat them. They'll just pick and roll us to death like they did the past 2 playoffs. Farmar and Fisher still go under screens (farmar especially, Kobe grilled him for it). Nash gets open 3's. Also, Kobe tends to take a lot of jumpers against the suns and when he misses they run on the break and hit 3's. I think we can beat the Mavs, Rockets, Jazz, Hornets and Warriors in the playoffs. Spurs would beat us in 5 or 6.
We really cannot say more about the lakers this season,however,it suppose that they will have a bright future if they always do well like today vs the sun.
Lamo Odom is a headache to watch in the last minutes. He will always chuck up a three that's a near guarantee miss. They came close to beating the suns a couple years ago in the playoffs, but I don't think they can do it again.
I agree that they should be weak, and are probably overplaying, but the Lakers bench has to be one of their strengths thus far this season. Their bench is in the top 5 in a lot of offensive categories compared to other benches.
Suns don't really play good team defense. They are so helter skelter on D so they can run a fast break.
as long as Kobe is on that team, it's going absolutely NOWHERE.. the guy is the biggest ballhog I've seen in my whole life.. the only reason they won against Phoenix is Kobe passing the ball a little bit.. now imagine if he would make the right pass every time; they would be unstoppable.. put Nash instead of Kobe, and you have a championship team.. heck, put Wade instead of Kobe, and that team can win a championship.. don't get me wrong, Kobe was sick today, he hit shots that are freakin' crazy, falling down with 3 guys on him, and his till hit it.. But this won't always happens, and when you have a Bowen on you sticking his foot under you every time you shoot, you're gonna have to start passing the ball to your teammates who are capable of putting up crazy numbers.. that team has unbelievable shooters, really good slashers/drivers, and excellent rebounding.. their only weakness is: KOBE BRYANT..
Lamar Odom is the definition of a "completmentary star". As long as Kobe and Bynum are out there he's a dangerous third option. ....but yeah, they're good. For our sake I hope it doesn't keep up, but it's absolutely amazing that they're at this point with the way the season started with Kobe having one foot out the door. WC Coach of the Year toss up between Phil Jax and Nate McMillan.
Let me guess, you would rather have t-mac, someone who passes to his teammates but doesn't play with 1/4 the passion and energy as kobe.
If you watch their games, you'lll see that it's not luck. they're working hard and they're working together. Let me rephrase that again. They're WORKING HARD AND WORKING TOGETHER. Get that?
well, in that case I am flattered, because you don't seem to know that much B-ball.. why don't you try to watch the actual games rather than taking what ESPN feeds you?? or do you have to be a Stephen A Smith automaton? here are some facts you might want to consider: 1. Kobe is the best player in this league, there's no doubt in my mind about that.. 2. Kobe plays with the most fire and heart in the league.. plain and simple, but his intentions aren't necissarily "winning", but rather proving himself.. 3. Kobe is a selfish player, he doesn't give jack $hit about his teammates 4. being the best player in the league doesn't mean you actually benefit your team 5. Kobe prefers to take low percentage fade away jumpers with 3 people on him over passing it to a Jordan Farmar in the corner who shoots a crazy % 6. Kobe single handedly resulted in the ruin of the Lakers, and they are going absolutely NOWHERE with him being HIM..this means that IF he changes and starts passing to his teammates rather than taking wild shots (that might go in), he might win and even go to the finals.. think about it, if you are Kobe's teammate and you work really hard on this defensive position, you get a steal, and pass it to Kobe. Kobe dribbles it up the court, gets triple-teamed..you are in the corner by yourself waiting for the ball to throw up a 3 (btw, you are a great shooter), what does Kobe do? he spins and does all those fancy moves then shoots a fade-away hail-mary shot..it goes in, the crowd goes wild, but what are you thinking? you are thinking that on the next defensive position, I am not going to work as hard because Kobe will end up chucking it up..
