Is our age really that BIG of a concern?

[tamaraw08]

How many 36-38 year olds are still thriving in the league versus 25 year olds?
Older players tend to get injured easily and takes a longer time to heal but Pelinka signed legit back ups in case they get injured like Ariza for Melo, Howard for Marc, Nunn for Ellington etc.
But one concern for me is older players tend to lose quickness esp on defense, keeping their man in front of them, rotating fast enough to cover shooters and drawing charges. IMO, half a second matters

[dockingsched]

The only age concern is Lebron and how it affects his health and durability. Every other old player is expected to be a limited 15-20 min player. They’re so deep they don’t rely on any of them enough for their age to matter.

[danfantastk32]

The only age concern is Lebron and how it affects his health and durability. Every other old player is expected to be a limited 15-20 min player. They’re so deep they don’t rely on any of them enough for their age to matter.

But they're ALL old,except for a couple rookies (who won't play at all in post season) and THT. So in a sense, we are relying on them, because without the collective "them" there isn't anyone else. Yeah....it's nice to have a couple vets on your squad to bring experience and give the starters a spell for 5-6 minutes. I get exactly what your saying. If one of them goes down...oh well. Everyone pulls the slack, and you move on. Only our guys pulling slack can't give too many minutes themselves. They're north of thirty (in many cases NORTH of thirty) already. So it's not exactly the same thing.

Look....I don't want to be the nay-sayer here. I think we have a damn good squad. Lot's to be happy about. I have serious questions about Westbrook, but if he plays nice...he's gonna carry the major load until April...and then Lebron can start to ramp it up. If the Westbrook thing works out, we should be really formidable. I like our chances against the Nets even if the Nets work it out, and are playing really well. But I think your (by you, I mean anyone) kidding yourself if you don't think our age is a concern. Its a MAJOR concern. A couple injuries in, and suddenly your asking Melo and Ariza and Gasol to play 25+ minutes a night. And that just about quadruples their chances of getting hurt....and all of a sudden we've got a retirement home, instead of a championship team.

AD is gonna have to come in to camp in shape, and ready to go. If ever there was a season to squeeze 75+ games out of him, its this one. Heaven forbid he goes down (again). Who takes up his 35+ minutes? People are talking about playing Melo down low...give me a break. The guy is only 6' 7" and he's 37 years old! He played 24mpg last season....a whoppin 8-minute drop from the season before. People need to see the team for what it is.

If this team makes it to the playoffs healthy, we're gonna rock and roll. I don't see a single team giving us issues. Maybe if the Nets are absolutely rolling, and Aldridge finds his younger form. But that would be it.

Gettin' there though. I think it's going to be 10 times the challenge people think it is. The "depth" is alot thinner than people think. Can a guy like Ariza get hot, and play 30 minutes and have a great game?? Sure. Same with Melo. Same with Dwight. But can you ask either of them to come back and player another 30 minute game? How about 15 in a row?? Well what else do you do if a couple guys go down?

[Slava]

If you play an 8 deep rotation in the playoffs, that’s going to be

Davis
Lebron
Westbrook
Nunn
Bazemore
Horton Tucker
Ariza and Rondo, Ellington or Monk plus one of Dwight or Gasol drawing minutes based on match ups. Despite age, is anyone in the league as athletic and durable as Westbrook and Lebron? People get too caught up in things that won’t matter.

[Roll Tide 09]

Age won’t matter. Even if a step has been lost for the whole team, their Basketball IQ and star skill sets will still be there…and that’s what matters.

If the Mavericks can beat the Heat in 2011, the Lakers can easily compete for the NBA Title.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[euphorbus]

I think it will matter significantly in the last third of the season. By that time, younger players like Monk and Nunn should be either starting or playing 20+ minutes per game. Even so, the potential for disaster looms large with so many players over the age of 33, especially James and Westbrook.

[Rip32]

The Lakers are old and limp. They not erect at all

[Kilroy]

The Lakers are old and limp. They not erect at all

2 of 10 insult... Do you expect us to come back with a defense of exactly how erect they are? Because, that would be weird...

[zimpy27]

The Lakers are old and limp. They not erect at all

2 of 10 insult... Do you expect us to come back with a defense of exactly how erect they are? Because, that would be weird...

That poster has been on these boards for nearly 20 years