Question: How good is our bench?

[ALL HAIL]

Right now, Farmar, Vujacic, and Walton are merely servicable backups who can give the starters limited relieve.

They used to be, particularly Farmar and Vujacic, dynamic and game changing assets that could give the starters long stints of rest.

[snaquille oatmeal]

Shaq is a tad bit hard headed?

And that's what I can't stand about him, I study this cat every game. His mannerism's and offcourt behavior drives me crazy. He always has that look of " it ain't my fault", never excepts his mistakes and chides others when he was the one who F'd up.

fixed for better accuracy

[Sedale Threatt]

You guys sure give up on Farmar easily. Weren't most of you citing Farmar's attitude as one of the reason why he could be our future PG? Right now I don't like how Farmar plays as much as you do, but I think that behind the cockiness he also has a strong will to improve his game. He's made great strides on the first two seasons, and now that his plays have dropped off for half a season you guys immediately want to see him replaced by Brown who has struggled to stay on his team because he has bad B-ball IQ?

Give Farmar a chance. I am as uncertain about his future with the Lakers as you guys, but saying things like we have to trade him or we should let him go next year is premature right now.

Patience is always a virtue, especially when dealing with young players. So overall a good message to push. I'd like to see Jordan get another year or two to prove himself.

But of all the players on our roster, I can't think of anyone I'm more disappointed in this year. He had such a good training camp, yet he somehow has managed to not only stagnate but in most respects regress from last season.

As young as he is, you'd still like to see some growth, some maturity, in his game. He's in the middle of his third year and he still can't run the offense, nor does he have any grasp of nuances like tempo and situational awareness. It's one speed, one style, all the time.

That's the part that turns me off the most, followed very closely by the pissy attitude that Deep and others have touched on.

[Sedale Threatt]

Radmanovic and his 43% 3pt look golden now.

Until you imagine him trying to guard Paul Pierce or LeBron James in the Finals.

But no doubt, Sasha's been pretty poor this year. I wouldn't have thought him to be that type of player judging by how hard he seems to work, but you have to wonder if he's eased off after getting his contract.

Frustrated as I was with his play yesterday, and his season in general, it's even more frustrating to re-watch the game and realize that every shot he took was makeable. The ball just isn't going in for him.

He should probably slow up a bit and quit taking shots so early in the shot clock. But that's pretty much what he's out there to do, so I'm not sure what else he can do but to keep putting them up and hope he eventually breaks out of his slump.

Not exactly a solution I'm excited about, considering I nearly smashed my remote yesterday as he put up as many 3s in the fourth quarter as Pau got shots in the second half. But I don't know what else he can do.

[hermes]

i bet sasha did ease up (early in the season) after getting the contract, and he took it a little too far, and is having trouble getting back into it

i hope that makes some sense, because it sounded a lot better in my head

[semi-sentient]

Radmanovic and his 43% 3pt look golden now.

Until you imagine him trying to guard Paul Pierce or LeBron James in the Finals.

There isn't anyone on our team capable of guarding those two players, although I'm very curious to see how Ariza will hold up against one or the other (for the duration of a game).

I suspect he meant that that 43% looks good when you consider we could be playing Radmanovic instead of Vujacic though, which would make a huge difference for us right now.

I just don't get why Phil isn't giving Shannon Brown a shot at this point. It doesn't even matter if he knows the triangle or not because Vujacic is that ineffective out there.

[Sedale Threatt]

Yeah, I was just teasing. I don't suspect Luke or Trevor will hold up any better. I just couldn't stand anything about Radmanovic any more -- his game, his attitude, the vapid expression on his face.

I'm sure a lot of people have reached that point with Sasha, and rightfully so considering he's had such a poor season. Speaking only for myself, I haven't, and I'd still much, much rather see him in the lineup over Radmanovic.

Suck as he might, Sasha still tries. I don't know why I cut him slack for that, but I do.

[hermes]

i won't give up on sasha unless he dies his hair pink or something

[Sedale Threatt]

Judging by the photos on his web site, that's only a matter of time.

[Dexmor]

Bench needs work. I hate the Radman trade. He could have been a good piece off the bench. Bynum I have no faith in coming back and the bench ewas so hyped when it had Odom and Ariza which it has neither now. We have Farmar and I feel lucky to have a pg like him off the bench but that's about it that is a guy that could start and not be a weakness on a winning team.

[Luxury]

Players and coaches were saying in the beginning like "When you have Lamar or Ariza coming off the bench, it must say something". It couldn't have been more true now that they're in the starting line-up. Our bench is blowing leads, but its because its not the original bench mob of Farmar, Sasha, Ariza, Lamar, and Bynum/Pau.

[microfib4thewin]

It's not even about Odom and Ariza starting that's causing the bench to suck. The bench has been suspect ever since Phil told them to stop running. Once they become a half court team everything gets exposed. Sasha can't hit shots without Kobe playing decoy, Farmar is useless at executing half court sets and is turning into Sasha in terms of missing shots, Ariza likewise doesn't help our offensive flow since he can't find open guys or move the ball like Luke, Odom is only good as a garbage man, so that leaves Gasol to do all the work. Problem with that is we have no legit backup(why did we trade Mihm for the sake of a million?) so Pau has to run the offense for both the starters and the second unit. No matter how much faith Phil has in Pau's condition that will wear out on him.

[dockingsched]

i put the bench sucking directly on odom having to move into the starting lineup. if there is one thing that lamar is elite at, its being able to rebound and immediately start the break. he's probably the best big man in the league at it, and its quite the boost for the bench.

[DEEP3CL]

And that's what I can't stand about him, I study this cat every game. His mannerism's and offcourt behavior drives me crazy. He always has that look of " it ain't my fault", never excepts his mistakes and chides others when he was the one who F'd up.

fixed for better accuracy

I could care less what he does OFF the court snaq. It's on the court where I have my problems with him.........that's the bottom line. What I posted was as accurate as it gets period.

[magic1fan]

bench has been weak for a while. farmar and sasha have really fell off. another reason why i think kobe and pau deserve more credit. those two don't have as much help as people think.

[hermes]

i put the bench sucking directly on odom having to move into the starting lineup. if there is one thing that lamar is elite at, its being able to rebound and immediately start the break. he's probably the best big man in the league at it, and its quite the boost for the bench.

so in the end it's all kobe's fault, he injured bynum which threw everything off

[JellosJigglin]

i put the bench sucking directly on odom having to move into the starting lineup. if there is one thing that lamar is elite at, its being able to rebound and immediately start the break. he's probably the best big man in the league at it, and its quite the boost for the bench.

I really don't think it has anything to do with Lamar. The bench was better last year when Lamar was starting. Farmar and Sasha have been off all season and have made terrible decisions with the ball. When those guys aren't scoring, AND they're giving the ball away, what good are they? We know they aren't going to play defense. Farmar is a matador and Sasha consistently commits fouls 40 feet away from the basket. These 2 guys together were the engine of our bench. This year it's been like playing 3 vs. 5 when they're on the floor.