GAME#80 LAKERS VS BLAZERS 12:30PM 4/11/10 ABC

[DubaLakers]

I agree jfar he could be the secret weapon.

[The Skyhook]

Sasha Poster
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyHzptkxMss[/youtube]

[DEEP3CL]

The entire league was talking about it before the deadline too, and nothing was done, even with the opportunity to do so.

It's not that easy man.......it's a thing call the salary cap. Trades in today's NBA just aren't that easy to make despite what the media says can be done. Hell half the guys covering ball don't really understand the cap rules.

Chicago was willing to deal, the FO's loyalty to certain players prevented them from making the move. Mitch has known we needed backcourt help and bench help since last year. I'm sure he wants to do something this summer, but will it be the right move?

No not true, Chicago was not willing to deal. Fact is they over valued Hinrich way too much. Dude was pulling down 9 mil, Mitch matched the money with Sasha and Jordan..........the Bulls didn't budge. And it's not like Kirk was the magic elixir, and he damn sure wasn't going to pick up the Triangle in just a matter of weeks.

Was an aging and unathletic Artest for 5 years a good move? Was Kobe at 32 yrs old with a new contract increasing in salary every year as he declines a good move? Was Sasha/Luke contracts a good move?

We've known for years picc that Sasha and Luke's deals are what is single handedly killing our chances to up grade. As far as Kobe and Ron Ron, yes these were solid moves. I see dumb asses all over the GB and other teams boards still saying Trevor was a better fit, how the hell do they know that ? Trev got hot at the right time in his career, but Ron is what we needed. It may not be so smooth right now but it'll come around next season for sure. And if Trev is or was all that then why in the hell is he struggling so bad this year. But you have all the so called experts who claim he "was the better fit"........BS.

I'm positive changes will be made over the summer. Its whether they will be good ones that i'm concerned about. Right now I don't have that confidence.

Dr.Buss has never fail his team and he won't now. Things will get done bank on it.

[Asianiac_24]

Only thing positive from this game was, this is probably Sasha's best game of the season. Which isn't saying much

[picc]

It's not that easy man.......it's a thing call the salary cap. Trades in today's NBA just aren't that easy to make despite what the media says can be done. Hell half the guys covering ball don't really understand the cap rules.

We had the contracts to match Hinrich's. Buss would have been paying no more for him than he is paying now for Ammo and Fisher. And Hinrich's contract, in fact, decreases over the next couple years. To imply that the team could not afford a new PG is mistaken, at best. We will be over the cap no matter what. Even if we don't sign anyone over the summer, we'll be over the cap. We may as well have been over the cap with a legit point guard, don't you think?

No not true, Chicago was not willing to deal. Fact is they over valued Hinrich way too much. Dude was pulling down 9 mil, Mitch matched the money with Sasha and Jordan..........the Bulls didn't budge. And it's not like Kirk was the magic elixir, and he damn sure wasn't going to pick up the Triangle in just a matter of weeks.

Chicago was absolutely willing to deal. According to reports, they wanted the expiring K's of Ammo and either Fisher or Shannon. We were not willing to give up either of them. Mitch tried to dump Sasha because he was the most expendable of the 3 and had the longest contract. It was not necessary to deal Sasha - just preferable. The fact is if we had been willing to deal Fisher, Hinrich would be a Laker right now. The Lakers pulled the plug on that trade - not the Bulls.

We've known for years picc that Sasha and Luke's deals are what is single handedly killing our chances to up grade. As far as Kobe and Ron Ron, yes these were solid moves. I see dumb asses all over the GB and other teams boards still saying Trevor was a better fit, how the hell do they know that? Trev got hot at the right time in his career, but Ron is what we needed. It may not be so smooth right now but it'll come around next season for sure. And if Trev is or was all that then why in the hell is he struggling so bad this year. But you have all the so called experts who claim he "was the better fit"........BS.

I didnt say signing Ron was a bad move. I said signing Ron for 5 years, when he is getting old and visibly declining (as with Kobe), was a mistake. The same kind of mistake they made with Luke (5 years). Not only are we going to be paying him as he gets older, it will hamstring us because his contract is so long we won't be able to include him any trades to teams trying to salary dump, the same problem that has plagued us with Sasha and Luke.

Ditto for Kobe. A max extension paying him near 30 mil a year was a mistake, purely because he is also visibly declining. He will be getting paid the most 3 years from now, when he will no longer be playing even at the level he's playing at now. There's no way to defend that decision. The FO simply has made terrible financial moves, juvenile ones, when you expect they would have learned their lesson from the ones made before (Sasha, Luke, Vlad).

Dr.Buss has never fail his team and he won't now. Things will get done bank on it.

Things will get done, for sure. Will they be good decisions? That remains to be seen.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Deep, get down off the edge man and climb back in the window. It can't be that bad. Granted, I only watch Laker games when they're against the Blazers, but I'm sure the Lakers will get it to gether. Yeah, Kobe looked like crap, but frankly... he typically doesn't have great games against Portland. My memory is probably short, but it sounds like he's been banged up and maybe overworked. I'm sure he'll focus a bit more once the playoffs start. Like you said, the tie breaker has already been set, they're already the Western Conference Champs, there's not a lot to play for right now. If the Lakers wanna make some changes, I don't think they need to do a lot. Sure, they could move Bynum at this point and probably help their team either at the PG position or bench. If they don't wanna move him, then I'm not really sure what they could do. One thing the Lakers have going for them more so than a lot of teams (Boston has it this year), is that FA's getting along in their years wanna play for a contender and are willing to play for pennies on the dollar. Perhaps there are a couple of FA's the Lakers could sign to come off the bench for them. The other thing they gotta do is draft well (maybe they have, I don't pay attention to that though). I really don't think the Lakers are that far removed at this point. Once Kobe's next contract is done, then maybe the Lakers might need to do an overhaul, but I think they're okay for another few years still.

[Brautigan1]

You guys worry too much.

You forget:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcS10rSrOhI

Never give up! Never surrender!

[DaVoiceMaster]

Low blow man!

[Sedale Threatt]

How clutch is he really? Can anyone remember any clutch plays he's made outside of .4 and game 4 last year? Keep in mind he's played for the Lakers for 10 years now. 2 "clutch" shots in the span of a decade do not make you CLUTCH.

I can think of many (MANY) more clutch blunders he's made than actual good plays. If someone has a more extensive list than ".4/game 4" I would be interested in hearing it.

He was awesome during the 01 playoffs, hitting over 50% of his 3s.

He hit some huge shots against the Spurs in Game 2 of the WCF; granted, we probably would have still pasted them, but going home 2-0 as opposed to 1-1 was huge. He had a pretty big game in the clincher against Philly, too, to make up for a terrible Finals.

He was also very good in 03, although it got lost in the shuffle as we flamed out.

I thought he made a big different in 08, too, bringing that veteran experience to a young team. That kind of sums up what I've always admired about Fish -- the ability was never great, and the decision-making could be terrible for someone as smart as he is, but I always thought he was solid, dependable.

This year, however, he's just totally washed up. Maybe we all got suckered by the shot against Orlando into thinking we could survive with him, as he wasn't really all that great last year.

But now...it's just painful to watch. We've been basically playing 4 on 5 all year, and now that we're down another starter in Bynum, and Kobe is obviously less than 100%...no wonder we're playing so badly.

If I were Buss, I'd give Derek a standing offer to join the coaching staff or front offer the second he retires. But considering he still thinks he can play another season or two -- !?!?! -- I'd also show him the door as soon as his contract expires.

[Sedale Threatt]

You guys worry too much.

You forget:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcS10rSrOhI

Never give up! Never surrender!

I can never watch this enough. Chris Webber -- the Face of Choke.

[lakersdynasty]

we are too banged up, kobe looks like he´s 45, he´s so slow and can´t jump thats being sad to watch, I just hope he dosen´t play for US team...ron is hurt, shannom is hurt, bynum...

i said this before, this team look like the miami heat after they won it, wade playing hurt, and the guys kept saying they would turn it on the playoffs and got busted by the bulls

[picc]

He was awesome during the 01 playoffs, hitting over 50% of his 3s.

He hit some huge shots against the Spurs in Game 2 of the WCF; granted, we probably would have still pasted them, but going home 2-0 as opposed to 1-1 was huge. He had a pretty big game in the clincher against Philly, too, to make up for a terrible Finals.

He was also very good in 03, although it got lost in the shuffle as we flamed out.

I thought he made a big different in 08, too, bringing that veteran experience to a young team. That kind of sums up what I've always admired about Fish -- the ability was never great, and the decision-making could be terrible for someone as smart as he is, but I always thought he was solid, dependable.

Thats all well and good, but not really relevant to my point about his "clutchness", specifically.

There have certainly been years that he played well overall for the Lakers. 2008 was the last one, to my recollection. But that wasn't the question. What I was asking was what has he really done to warrant having a clutch tag similar to Horry or Kobe when he's only really had two "clutch" plays in over a decade of playing for the Lakers.

I agree with you on what to do with him at seasons end. Coaching position or hit the road. Coming off the bench won't hide his weaknesses, it will expose them even more.

[Sedale Threatt]

Thats all well and good, but not really relevant to my point about his "clutchness", specifically.

There have certainly been years that he played well overall for the Lakers. 2008 was the last one, to my recollection. But that wasn't the question. What I was asking was what has he really done to warrant having a clutch tag similar to Horry or Kobe when he's only really had two "clutch" plays in over a decade of playing for the Lakers.

I agree with you on what to do with him at seasons end. Coaching position or hit the road. Coming off the bench won't hide his weaknesses, it will expose them even more.

I know you're looking for specific game situations, but I think raising one's game in the playoffs -- which he's done on numerous occasions -- is the very definition of clutch.

Also, I take these type of stats with a grain of salt, but he's got a respectable history of hitting game-winners according to this study. Again, take it with a grain of salt, but he's one of the few role players on the list.

http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm

[picc]

According to that he's put in 8, 4 with the Jazz/Warriors, 4 with us. Not bad for a roleplayer. The fact that he's listed above Manu and Billups, both of whom have made dozens of clutch plays over their career but are only listed at "6" gives me great cause for question however.

Then you have guys like Gasol, Marion, Webber, etc. listed who have never had a reputation as clutch but are recognized as such going by that listing. Can't really put too much credence in it myself.

[stunnar0b]

Only thing positive from this game was, this is probably Sasha's best game of the season. Which isn't saying much

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[Sedale Threatt]

According to that he's put in 8, 4 with the Jazz/Warriors, 4 with us. Not bad for a roleplayer. The fact that he's listed above Manu and Billups, both of whom have made dozens of clutch plays over their career but are only listed at "6" gives me great cause for question however.

Then you have guys like Gasol, Marion, Webber, etc. listed who have never had a reputation as clutch but are recognized as such going by that listing. Can't really put too much credence in it myself.

Which is why I said, twice, take it with a grain of salt.

Just throwing it out there to illustrate that he's had his moments.

[Sedale Threatt]

At any rate, even if he hit two or three more in the playoffs, that doesn't change the fact that he's had a terrible season, and should be replaced at all costs.

[The Skyhook]

At any rate, even if he hit two or three more in the playoffs, that doesn't change the fact that he's had a terrible season, and should be replaced at all costs.

Yeah but it would be great for the playoffs because we need the bench to really step up. One of our struggles is 3 point shooting and if a bench players steps up to do that I can't say anything negative about it.