What Exactly Is The Issue?

[ennui]

The rotations are so bad that when we do close out, often two players go hurtling towards a defender compromising the hell out of our D.

The players need to communicate and practice their team defense. It is seriously horrible, watching it with non-laker fans, they were just clowning.

[leeprettyp]

WOW VEGAS HAS US AT 38% CHANCE OF NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS.


BTW... I'm waiting for "ITS KOBE FAULT" threads thats soon to be coming. Mitch and Jim gotta find a way to land us Rudy Gay. The guy is available. Bring in a 3rd team some way. Their trying to get out that contract. In this NBA we can get away with Metta being moved to the 4 or even starting Jordan Hill. At this point Pau Gasol has to go. The damage is done for both parties and it sux. To think IMO this season could've been different if we'd hired Phil and played to our strengths. But this is our coach Mike D. and his system needs a stretch PF and that doesnt fit Pau. And then on the defense end we dont run zone defense to cover up the defensive issues we have at his 4 position.

[ennui]

Thoughts of self doubt Am I done? Is this how my career will end?? I REFUSE to give in to these thoughts. #strongwill #countonchallenges

If that doesn't motivate our team, I don't know what will.

[DEEP3CL]

Not sure you understand kobe...but kobe only plays to win and the lakers have the resources to make that happen.

I take back what I said about Kobe. He had an amazing performance against the clips on both ends. There just comes a point where you can be the best leader in the world, but sometimes your teammates are just dead weight like pau gasol. Dantoni needs to either figure out how to either utilize gasol or trade him for a power forward that can hit mid range shots.

Then why in hell did you even start this thread ? I saw this here for about a week before I even decided to post in it. Reason being and to put it frankly.......it was a premature. I get we're all frustrated but Kobe ain't the blame for none of this. He's bust'in his ass to keep us from losing and he ain't getting help. Simple as that.

[JustAwesome]

Not sure you understand kobe...but kobe only plays to win and the lakers have the resources to make that happen.

Winning is the most important thing, but that's not the only reason why Bryant plays the game. He wants to be known as the greatest. It's that drive that makes him who he is.

[GeneralNash]

Not sure you understand kobe...but kobe only plays to win and the lakers have the resources to make that happen.

I take back what I said about Kobe. He had an amazing performance against the clips on both ends. There just comes a point where you can be the best leader in the world, but sometimes your teammates are just dead weight like pau gasol. Dantoni needs to either figure out how to either utilize gasol or trade him for a power forward that can hit mid range shots.

Then why in hell did you even start this thread ? I saw this here for about a week before I even decided to post in it. Reason being and to put it frankly.......it was a premature. I get we're all frustrated but Kobe ain't the blame for none of this. He's bust'in his ass to keep us from losing and he ain't getting help. Simple as that.

Well I still don't think Kobe is sending the right message to his teammates. But to be fair, I don't think anyone here or on that team knows what the right message is. All I know is, why can't this team start a game with the same intensity and focus during that 4th quarter against the clippers? Lakers had to climb back from 20 twice.

I think leadership is a problem....and kobe and nash are really the ones that need to pull this team together.

There is no question that during the Clippers game, Kobe at 34 is the best player in that building, and what's sad is that amazing performance is diminished because of a dead weight 7 foot Spaniard that can't play offense or defense. Pau Gasol has got this team in shackles...and one lob pass to Howard doesn't erase the fact that he can't produce on his own.

[AceFresh]

Kobe was surely a problem tonight, 38 points with 60% shooting while guarding the best point guard in the league.

Real issues are Defense, Team Chemistry (as you referenced) And the diminishing Pau Gasol who has gone from One of the top bigmen in the game to a liability

[JustAwesome]

I don't think anyone is questioning Bryant's ability to score. Those 38 points are possible on just about every night for him.

[TARIQ]

The leader of a team is always going to get criticized, but if you're Kobe you're going to be criticized 400% more than normal lol

[leeprettyp]

The leader of a team is always going to get criticized, but if you're Kobe you're going to be criticized 400% more than normal lol

You can thank ESPN and Fox sports media circuits for brainwashing novice basketball fans into relying on numbers to equate greatness only. Their so many other factors that are being overlooked

[TARIQ]

The leader of a team is always going to get criticized, but if you're Kobe you're going to be criticized 400% more than normal lol

You can thank ESPN and Fox sports media circuits for brainwashing novice basketball fans into relying on numbers to equate greatness only. Their so many other factors that are being overlooked

The funny thing is Kobe and Gasol have great Chemistry he is always by his side Always! these young fans tend to just go with the flow and say what they like without general back up lol

[Tenbomber]

I've been reading this thread and I must comment.

The problem isn't Kobe. It's not Gasol or ANY of the players for that matter.

It's the scatter brained ownership that fired Mike Brown and then hired Mike D'Antoni that is the problem.

The Laker core is getting old. So what do they do? They go out and get the almost 40 year old Steve Nash to run the show. No offence to the future hall of famer Nash, but he looks lost out there in Laker gold.

Oh!...How the mighty Lakers have fallen!

And as great as Kobe is, he's just like all the king's horses and all the king's men.

He can't put Humpty Dumpty back together again!

So there you have it in a scrambled eggshell Jack! (pardon the pun)

The whole senario, to date, is bound to produce a fractured fairytale ending!

BTW... Magic Johnson sorta nailed it at halftime when he fingered D'Antoni's coaching logic of having Gasol wonder around at the top of the key instead of being down on the bloc and hanging around in the paint. He's right! It absolutely makes no sense at all?

I watched that nationally televised game last night with the Clippers and all I can say to you all is "good luck"!

[nashill]

Meanwhile, Bryant continued to defend Gasol, who had two points and four rebounds in 27 minutes against the Clippers. Gasol would have sat out the entire fourth quarter again Friday if Howard hadn't fouled out with 1:07 to play. "The ball should be in Steve's hands and should be in Pau's hands," Bryant said. "The ball used to be in my hands and we got Steve Nash, who's better at it than I am. He's an incredible facilitator. So is Pau. So we have the two best passers at their respective positions and they need to be the guys that have the ball the majority of the time. Myself and Dwight, we're finishers. I think that's how it should operate. "I won two championships with [Gasol]. We won two championships playing through him, really. I know what he's capable of doing." Los Angeles Times

http://hoopshype.com/rumors/tag/pau_gasol

wow kobe im a fan but pau needs to go

[Mirjalovic]

Wow, i swear i said the same thing like kobe said in GB.

Me = Kobe.

[leeprettyp]

Meanwhile, Bryant continued to defend Gasol, who had two points and four rebounds in 27 minutes against the Clippers. Gasol would have sat out the entire fourth quarter again Friday if Howard hadn't fouled out with 1:07 to play. "The ball should be in Steve's hands and should be in Pau's hands," Bryant said. "The ball used to be in my hands and we got Steve Nash, who's better at it than I am. He's an incredible facilitator. So is Pau. So we have the two best passers at their respective positions and they need to be the guys that have the ball the majority of the time. Myself and Dwight, we're finishers. I think that's how it should operate. "I won two championships with [Gasol]. We won two championships playing through him, really. I know what he's capable of doing." Los Angeles Times

http://hoopshype.com/rumors/tag/pau_gasol

wow kobe im a fan but pau needs to go

And My friends thats our leader Kobe Bean Bryant keeping it REAL!!! We'll said Bean, but if Mike D. Isnt willing to do this then we have to move Gasol. On the other end of the court he cant even defend PF anymore so we need to implement more zone defense IMO. The Clippers even ran some zone on us the other night.

[dockingsched]

The Laker core is getting old. So what do they do? They go out and get the almost 40 year old Steve Nash to run the show. No offence to the future hall of famer Nash, but he looks lost out there in Laker gold.

if u really think he's looked lost than u havent really been watching. completely insane assertion.

[leeprettyp]

The Laker core is getting old. So what do they do? They go out and get the almost 40 year old Steve Nash to run the show. No offence to the future hall of famer Nash, but he looks lost out there in Laker gold.

if u really think he's looked lost than u havent really been watching. completely insane assertion.

Doc i must've missed that guys comment. WOAHHHHH Nash looks lost out there? The guy is not even in true game shape yet and he is still getting 12ppg 10apg in his sleep. SMH sometimes I just dont get it. Nash is the least of our problems. We need to focus on consistent defensive intensity and figure out what were gonna do with Pau. Use him as the focal point in the post or trade him. Its either or at this point.

[Nanogeek]

People continue to be ignorant of the fact that the Lakers have performed better against teams with Gasol on the court than when he is not on the court. Who is going to take Gasol's place at the 4? Hill? Jamison? Both of those guys are worse than Gasol. And if you trade Gasol who do you think you are going to get in return? Not someone better than Gasol. The problem with the Lakers is the coach. The Lakers need Jackson in there to get these guys to gel and work together. Until then nothing is going to change.

[dockingsched]

People continue to be ignorant of the fact that the Lakers have performed better against teams with Gasol on the court than when he is not on the court. Who is going to take Gasol's place at the 4? Hill? Jamison? Both of those guys are worse than Gasol. And if you trade Gasol who do you think you are going to get in return? Not someone better than Gasol. The problem with the Lakers is the coach. The Lakers need Jackson in there to get these guys to gel and work together. Until then nothing is going to change.

if you look at those numbers a little closer, they aren't as positive for pau as one would think.

lakers offensively have lost nothing with gasol on the bench.

On the court ORTG is 111.1, off the court the ORTG is 111.0, complete wash.

the difference comes on the defensive end, where the teams DRTG with him is 105.6 and without him its 109.5. with defensively superior players like d12, hill, and mwp playing those minutes, im going to assume a lot of that might be due to the minutes that jamison was getting for the 1st two months of the season or just how the rotations are matching gasol against the other team's bench. i mean, im not prepared to say that the defense is better with gasol out there over d12, mwp, or hill. doesn't pass the eye test at all.

[GeneralNash]

Nash is still a little rusty believe it or not, but he's playing great all things considering. Nash's impact on the game hasn't been seen in full force. This is an encouraging fact.