Lakers Thread

[TRUball]

^ Very well written post Jackal.

Kwame Brown - Is it his youth or just the fact that he's not a very capable player? I've said it's his youth for a long long time, but honestly, Kwame isn't a very good player. He fumbles easy passes, misses easy shots, it can't be his nerves all the time, not all the time, right? He's a bench player at best. My hopes of big men to lead the Lakers are now on Andrew Bynum, come on young fellow, work your ass off this offseason. Kwame really disappointed.

So true...

[Isaiah]

Kwame and Smush need to train with Steve Nash. He will make them better.

anyway..this was a really disappointing elimination. but its true they were really inexperienced. i just hope the front office (or maybe Kobe if some still insist he does everything) will make the correct moves this offseason.

[air gordon]

what a pathetic ending to an otherwise good series

3 shots in the 2nd half for the 'supposed' MVP. Lakers fans can put their spin on it but that's total fucking bullshit. and to still be talking shit about Raja Bell is pretty low brow

[Fewrookies-From2kW/Love]

@ the title of this thread:

Lakers did not choked. The Suns are a far superior team in case you didn't notice.

[BIG GREEN]

They choked in game 6. They should have closed it out then..and they didn't. With no plausible excuse other than choking on 7 inches of rock hard "bone".

[dada]

I know I have been M.I.A. on the forum since LA gagged their way to defeat. Oh well.
I had my sister's graduation on Saturday and a long road trip back to Miami (OK it was only 6 hrs) later that day. Today we had a party for her and I'm just coming back from the movies. (MI3 and Silent Hill).

Too much information....I know.

I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am that LA lost a 3-1 lead in the series. Thats about all the playoff basketball I'm gonna watch. I have a tendency to root for the team that beat my favorite team so I'm going for Phoenix to win it all I suppose. Why? Cuz I like to feel that whoever beat them was invincible.

This just sucks though.

Anyways I am already looking forward to next season. With a miracle from God KG might be aboard and they can make a good run. Well, it doesnt hve to be KG but just a really good big. After LA lost game 6 I had a feeling it was over but not in that fashion.

I have to give Phoenix props. They came back against a team that outplayed them the first two thirds of the series. Albeit they should have defeated them more comfortable, they battled through it and a win's a win.

Oh well.

Oh well.

Well, Kobe#24 begins next season so that might be the beginning of something big for LA.

[robskicks]

Lamar Odom won me over in this series... he showed more desire then I've seen from any other Laker (not named Kobe). He was fun too watch give 100%. The Lakers will be fine if they go out and get another big man, Robert Horry style or maybe a 7 footer with a jump shot. A veteran point guard could also help out Smush and Sasha next year.

[robskicks]

When I say a big man, I don't mean a tall puss ala Brian Cook. We need someone who can dunk, play D when it counts, hit jumpers and the occasional 3 which is why I thought about Horry. Garnett available without giving up Odom/Kobe?

[dada]

Garnett available without giving up Odom/Kobe?

I'm just going off the rumours about him going to LA. I truly have no idea how it would work but I'm sure there must have been some way because the media and such was all over it. I'm not counting on it though. The kinda power forward I'd truly like is the Dwight Howard type. Big, strong rebounder who nobody is gonna punk down low (Well he was punked by Kobe but I'm sure he's gotten tougher since then). Bynum will come along some time down the line and Mihm isnt that bad a center. Power Farward it is.

[Jackal]

Lakers fans can put their spin on it but that's total fucking bullshit.

Good thing some Laker fans gave the Suns all the credit they deserved.

and to still be talking shit about Raja Bell is pretty low brow

If that's in reference to me, here's the response to that one.

I spoke/posted about Bell not as a basketball player but as an individual. (Or, his looks for that matter.) Just as Bell felt he could comment about how pompous and arrogant Mr. Bryant is as an idividual, I have the freedom of speech to say I think Raja Bell looks like a faggot. That isn't a knock on his basketball skills or anything of the sort, that's just my observation of Bell as an individual. How that is a "low brow" to you is beyond my comprehension...but hey, whatever floats your boat Gordon.

[Laker Socks]

Yeah, thread title is spot on. Lakers choked.

Now, here's good news, Kobe will be taking Turiaf under his wing. LAst player Kobe took under his wing was Caron Butler. Look how he turned out in washington.

Here's another VERY good news(for me), if Kupchak fucks up(again) in the offseason, he's probably gonna be fired.

Watch out for Andrew "socks" Bynum next season. Kareem has apparently taught him well. The kid also proved that was our best post defender in the regular season. He needs to master his spots in the triangle and everthing will be ok for him. 15 and 8 next season.

Now for the fun part, i know its speculation but everyone who is familiar with LG and CL after the trade deadline knows that Mitch Kupchak was unable to close a deal that could've brought us T-Mac or Boozer or K-mart. I hope Kupchak tries talking to the rockets again in the offseason.

[EASE]

id kinda like to see sam-dam in a lakers jersey next year and maybe iggy
think of that for a defensive lineup?
C-sam dam
PF-lamar
SF-Iggy
SG-Kobe
Pg-Smush

what rumors have you heard about teh lakers offseason anyway? and what do you think will happen I already heard about kareem but wha else

[Fenix]

They're getting KG, of course, like every offseason.

Edit: Really? They'll do something with Bynum. He doesn't fit in this team's plans at all. He's a longterm project and his ceiling is Brendan Haywood. C'mon, trade him before he gets the 'bust' label written all over him. They can keep Mihm, if they can get him for cheap, but only as a Kwame's backup. Trade Devean George. Get an athletic, defensive minded swingman to come of the bench when needed (so you can go small with Lamar at PF and you if you need extra D on the perimeter without overloading Kobe). Kill Smush and get a guy who can
a.) defend both guard spots,
b.) play off the ball,
c.) handle/distribute the ball,
d.) shoot the ball.
Considering latest development in Portland, I would try do trade for Jarrett Jack. He can't shoot (yet), but he can do everything else well. And for fuck's sake, get a consistent rebounder/shotblocker to compliment Kwame in the post.

[EASE]

lol if only

[maes]

Now that's funny...Kobe's been hogging & shooting the ball every single possession all regular season and NOW in the playoffs he decides the team needs to step up? Oh, how convenient.

He should have thought about the team stepping up before game 7. He should have thought about it during the regular season. He should have thought about it before destroying all team chemistry in chasing some personal records.

Players don't instantly turn on & off like a lightswitch. They need the entire regular season to get into a groove. You tell guys to "go chase down Kobe's missed shots" for 82 games then in game 7 expect them to take over like Paul Pierce? Any junior college coach could tell you that plan was a recipe for disaster.

The Lakers reap the rewards of being a 1 man team.

[EASE]

dude we know wwe've kinda moved on...

[CuhRazy]

Kobe said he could score anytime he wanted to by the way his team is playing. Is that really true?




No.

[Mayerhendrix]

Well I think the way Phil Jackson wanted Kobe to play was to be the unselfish player he was in the playoffs but it was up to Kobe when to use his judgement to decide that his team was in danger of losing and take over entirely at will. In Game 6 he was criticized for doing that too early so he was reluctant to take over in Game 7, which lead to their loss.

[air gordon]

no i wasn't referring to you regarding bell, mr jackal. i was referring to Bryant. not everything's about you

as for the other point i was making... it's not about giving credit. i'm talking about lakers fans making up silly spins like yours. c'mon lol...

[Jackal]

Ah, wasn't too clear about that, I figured you were responding to my comment.

Which comment by Bryant are you referring to though?

Silly spin? They are both young & inexperienced, how is that a spin? You aren't going to tell me you consider this a veteran team and were expecting the Lakers to push Phoenix as far as they did, are you?

[air gordon]

no i'm talking about your explanation as to why bbbryant only took 3 shots in the 2nd half

now my limit for posting about this for the week has been met.

i was expecting a much better game 7 effort that's for sure

[Jackal]

Well, my questions still stand for next week.

i was referring to Bryant.

What did Bryant say about Bell that made you post that comment?

i was expecting a much better game 7 effort that's for sure

Which is your way of saying you were impressed that the Lakers pushed the series that far, which is you saying you didn't expect it from such a young & unexperienced team, yes, I can live with that.

Till next week it is then.

[air gordon]

i'll make an exception or 2 lol..

game 7's post game is available on nba.com if i'm not mistaken. i dont' know the exact words but he was still talking trash about bell. i felt the need to post about it lol. i hope thats sufficient enough for you. if not, free speech lol

lol get whatever you want from my game 7statement. lol god forbid it sounds like i'm dropping a compliments towards the purple and gold

[dada]

Probably said already but I havent been part of the argument so this is my view...

As far as the second half in game 7 goes it woulda been hell either way for Kobe. All season they lost games against Phoenix with him jacking up shots but with him playing conservative they won 3 of the first 5 games. They lost a tough one in game 6 when he scored big and were down double digits with him scoring alot in game 7. If he went out and continued on that pace I could see the "Kobe was going for personal statistical gains" posts coming already. If Phil directed him to play (team oriented) that way then theres no problem with me since he's just following instructions and its obvious that him taking over wasn working. The Lakers have won their games by pounding it inside and role players hitting shots. Go with what works. Kobe can score at will against this team but the other guys need an extra push. Either way it looked like Phoenix had the game in the bag.

[Mayerhendrix]

I think Phoenix just fell asleep early in the series and the Lakers took advantage of it, so when they finally played at their top level the Lakers had no answer. The Suns have a main weakness inside, and the likes of Kwame Brown aren't enough to expose this consistently.

A lot of work in the offseason but Kobe, Lamar, and Kwame have many years left to perfect this system.