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There is no switch that can be turned on instantly. We do have a dimmer which can be turned on gradually but we need a few weeks to gear up and play our best basketball.

Its time for this team to start spinning the dimmer.

The 2nd round and beyond is going to require our best basketball to win. Phil Jackson, Kobe, Gasol and Fish start working your magic because its time to start spinning that dimmer on!

in all honesty, our record is inflated...
partly due to kobe's 5-6 game winners

a repeat is not in the question right now. we gota take this thing one game at a time...that the only possible way for us to win anything.

well, whether weve got the dimmer or the regular on/off switch, we aint goin anywhere without stickin a lightbulb in there first. weve got some issues, and im hoping we can solve this puzzle before the playoffs roll around. because the team that was supposedly shooting for the "all-time" record at the begining of the season, has been totally missing here down the stretch.

lol.....fish

LAKESHOW wrote:well, whether weve got the dimmer or the regular on/off switch, we aint goin anywhere without stickin a lightbulb in there first. weve got some issues, and im hoping we can solve this puzzle before the playoffs roll around. because the team that was supposedly shooting for the "all-time" record at the begining of the season, has been totally missing here down the stretch.

I like that missing light bulb anology. I think we are missing that spark off the bench that Ariza gave us last season. I don't think LO provides it off the bench because he is to inconsistant and is not a high energy guy.

iki4life wrote:in all honesty, our record is inflated...
partly due to kobe's 5-6 game winners

a repeat is not in the question right now. we gota take this thing one game at a time...that the only possible way for us to win anything.

This is a great point. We've been extraordinarily lucky in some close games this year and if it wasn't for Kobe's late game heroics we'd probably be with the rest of the pack in the West. Our team just looks beatable this year. We're no longer that scary, dominant juggernaut that teams are afraid to face. Last year nobody wanted a piece of us, everybody was trying to position themselves so they wouldn't have to see us in the playoffs until the WCF. This year if you're a team like Denver, Dallas, or even San Antonio I'm not sure you mind meeting us in the playoffs. We're a vulnerable team right now and depending on the matchup we can be taken out before the Finals.

Avg repeat champ finishes 5 to 6 games worse the following year in regular season record, yet still repeats. This season is just pro-forma, fulfilling the blueprint.

Free Rider wrote:

iki4life wrote:in all honesty, our record is inflated...
partly due to kobe's 5-6 game winners

a repeat is not in the question right now. we gota take this thing one game at a time...that the only possible way for us to win anything.

This is a great point. We've been extraordinarily lucky in some close games this year and if it wasn't for Kobe's late game heroics we'd probably be with the rest of the pack in the West. Our team just looks beatable this year. We're no longer that scary, dominant juggernaut that teams are afraid to face. Last year nobody wanted a piece of us, everybody was trying to position themselves so they wouldn't have to see us in the playoffs until the WCF. This year if you're a team like Denver, Dallas, or even San Antonio I'm not sure you mind meeting us in the playoffs. We're a vulnerable team right now and depending on the matchup we can be taken out before the Finals.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/n ... id=5054742

"The ones that say, 'We don't care who we play,' they're full of baloney," Popovich said. "We're all trying to hide from the Lakers in the first round and that's the truth.

"Really, it's like, 'Who do you want to play in the first round?,'" Popovich continued before sarcastically answering his question. "Oh, the Lakers! We'll play the Lakers!"

I agree that they don't want to avoid us as much as they did last year, but anyone in the west would still rather face seeds 2-8 than us

Here's a vid to cheer you guys up!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2y4TjxABKo[/youtube]

I think we'll be ready, we can get pass Portland but after that we need to get on the ball and fast. Portland can be taken out in 4 or 5 games.

You worry warts are such grumps.

If our record is inflated by Kobe's game winners but so are Cleveland and Orlando's by playing in the East. That is good for a couple games right there, especially when you look at our record vs sub .500.

No we didn't look that great yesterday but it wasn't without its stretches of our true ability either. Ginobli and Duncan got hot and we played them extremely poorly in the 4th. It happens, our effort looked lax. Its an early morning Easter game that had little meaning for us, do you truly blame these guys? SA is playing at playoff intensity just to avoid us.

So we have a few inconsistencies, but people act like the sky is falling and there is no way we can win. But tell me this, which team has been so perfect that they are suddenly going to beat us nomatter what? SA because of that win and beating a few other top teams? Please, did you forget we smashed them at their home just a week ago? Or that they lost to the Nets? Or that they have no front court and have to take the ball out of Manu's hands to re-integrate Parker? So scary...

Dallas? Then came down off their high hard. Denver? They are a bit of a mess right now with out the two Ks. Utah was the hottest thing until we smashed them. PHX? Yeah they are winning against bad teams but just got smashed by the Bucks and by us last game as well. Even the mighty Cleveland, lost to SA and Boston, barely beat the Bucks and the Hawks...

Point is, every team has flaws and inconsistencies and I'll take ours over anyone else's right now. We are still the 2nd best record, we'll still have HC through the West, We still have the best 5 players, we still are the most proven team, and we are still the champs until someone actually beats us. I don't think some of you realize the grind that we've been on. This is basically like the 3rd year in a 3 peat, its been a long road and these guys aren't that young. If we had not ever proven it before, I might be worried, but we HAVE proven it the last 2 years.

I have NO DOUBT in my mind that we have another level to raise up in 2 weeks, but most of these teams are at that level already fighting for their lives. And people are giving up on Kobe way too quick, thinking he's done or running out of gas. I guarantee dude still has a level of focus he will go up as well. That vid is perfect example and we can go get it.

iki4life wrote:a repeat is not in the question right now.

It's certainly not a gimmie, and it certainly IS in question right now.

Inconsistency is not a problem, it is a symptom. The only reason we are not consistent is because we are simply not good enough to play at a certain level. I am not saying that we don't have the talent to play at that level, but our chemistry clearly isn't there. At this rate, we will have a very difficult time making it to the finals nevertheless winning the ring.

55 wins and 5th in defensive efficiency is only indicative of good symptoms imo.

Could it be more? Sure, but considering the injuries we've had, mileage logged, and the thinness of our bench I'll take that.

Come playoff time the rotations will tighten up, so we won't have as big of stretch lapses. Brown and Farmar will probably play limited mins and likely not together. Luke will also probably get a few limited mins at 3 allowing Kobe to stay at the 2 so we avoid that terrible back court combo. Shannon played really well under pressure last year and I expect him to step it up as well. Hopefully his hand will continue to heal.

We'll also see schemes and options that Phil doesn't always use or reveal during the regular season. For example you will probably see Kobe spend more time on the bigger PGs like Westbrook/Billups/DWill. None of those teams really have a 2 guard that will threaten Fish a ton. Phil has been saving Kobe lately, barely used him on Ginobli, etc.

I expect him to change our PnR defense as well, Gasol was consistently backing off and favoring the paint way too much lately. Overall they just seem to be conserving energy for bursts and trying to get wins with a lock down run here and there.

Plus, this was as good a time as any for Kobe and Ron and others to get their shooting slump out of the way

What is killing us is FISHER, SHANNON, AND FARMAR. I am 14 years old and I think I can shoot better than Fisher in a game and Shannon just takes HORRIBLE shots and Farmar just makes really stupid mistakes. Another thing that kills us but not as much as those 3 bums is Ron Artest. Some games it seems like he's walking on defense and letting his man pass him and he is missing all of his threes but some games he gets a steal every posession or he shuts his man down and he makes his threes. If these four start playing well consistently we will be fine in the playoffs.

supaflash wrote:You worry warts are such grumps.

If our record is inflated by Kobe's game winners but so are Cleveland and Orlando's by playing in the East. That is good for a couple games right there, especially when you look at our record vs sub .500.

Considering our woeful road record and losing pretty much every game when we make a trip out East that's a poor excuse to rely on.

I am not worried because of what happened to the Spurs game. Duncan and Ginobili stepped up and we didn't. They're fantastic players who are capable of that kind of performance. The problem I have is that this team still hasn't found an identity. It's nearing playoffs, but I still don't see what this team is trying to accomplish oncourt. Everyone looks lost, and it isn't just on the defensive end like it was before, it's on the offensive as well. Kobe can't drive anymore with his broken up finger, and he's trying to compensate by posting up. Of course that takes away space for Gasol and Bynum, who are both most effective posting up. Outside of Kobe, Artest is the only other shot creator at the wing, and he also has a better time connecting a bucket by fighting underneath. Everyone here likes to blame on Fisher and Farmar, but how often does this team move the ball with enough precision so our shooters are open? Pretty much every 3s we take are contested because no one knows where the ball should go. When you have this many issues it's not just a matter of turning it up by the postseason, it's doing things differently and trying to find a fix, not waiting for it to miraculously disappear.

We're still one of the favorite to win a title this year, but the road is going to be much tougher than before.

I don't know why anyone would mention defensive efficiency without mentioning offensive efficiency. Sure we're 5th in dRtg this year (6th last season), but being 10th in oRtg (3rd last year) is a bit more telling outside of seeing how broken our offense has looked all season long.

The only time since 1994-95 that we were ranked lower was in 2003-04 (15th) when Kobe sucked and we had an over-the-hill, injury-plagued team with garbage chemistry (even though we started off smoking everyone's ass before injuries hit).

Personally, I don't fear anyone in the West, although it wouldn't surprise me one bit if we got knocked out early if someone else catches heat. What bothers me are the teams in the East that are going to give us problems, namely the Cavs who I don't feel we can beat.

Still, our offense is jacked, and it doesn't take statistics to understand that. We've had problems all season long and we absolutely have to do something in the offseason to fix what's broken -- and we can with just using our MLE wisely and a minor trade prior to next seasons deadline. To me, this season is lost regardless of what happens in the West (unless LeBron and Shaq get hurt, of course).

Right now it's hard to envision this team even making it to the Finals much less winning it all. If the Lakers were to drop one of their 1st two at home in the Western Conference playoffs, I don't know that they'd be able to get homecourt back with as poorly as they've played against good teams on the road this season. The last I checked they were several games under .500 against winning teams on the road and that was before the last road trip.

dula14 wrote:Right now it's hard to envision this team even making it to the Finals much less winning it all. If the Lakers were to drop one of their 1st two at home in the Western Conference playoffs, I don't know that they'd be able to get homecourt back with as poorly as they've played against good teams on the road this season. The last I checked they were several games under .500 against winning teams on the road and that was before the last road trip.

I wouldn't go quite that far. We've beaten every playoff team in the West on the road except for the Nuggets who we play on Thursday. I can guarantee you that no other team can make that claim, at least not in our conference.

I agree pretty much with the Finals. Cle or Orlando (I think Orlando may be better at this point honestly) will both be extremely difficult to beat in the finals, but we are still capable, especially if we maintain HC over Orlando.

My point this year though is that defense wins in the playoffs. in 08 we were an offensive juggernaught and we ended up losing. Last year we were balanced, but we won, although we struggled at times.

This year I'm less nervous because I've seen that we can defend. We're tougher. 5th (and barely out of 3rd) considering we've gone long stretches wihtout 1 of our anchors in Pau and Drew, Artest was banged up early and everyone has been coasting a bit lately... I just think that come playoff time, that D will be much more reliable then anything we've had the last few years. We we ramp up the consistency of it to the full 48 its going to be scary. Yes we've been inconsistent lately, but the stretches where our intensity has been full on have been excellent, better then anything I've seen the last two years.

When we've been motivated to get a win and make a statement its been pretty good ball. Consider
Utah 92 pts
SA 83 pts on the road
PHX 96 pts on the road
Orlando 96 pts on the road
Denver 89 pts

thats 5 of the top 10 offenses in games we set out to win and only lost 1 of those. Like I said, the loss on Sunday is blown out of proportion. SA desperately needed that game and needed to say something after what we did in their building. To us, it was Easter morning...

Thats what has me excited for our playoff run, not omg we won 115 to 110!!

Also, I would hardly call the 4th best road record in the league dismal.

And Microfib... Cle is 31-2 vs sub .500 we are 27-2... that is 4 gimmies right there. If you don't think we'd have a few more wins if we swapped places with Cle, then you are delusional. Look at the overall records and east v west records for each team. there are 4 west teams with 8 losses to the east, there is only 1 with that or less the other way around and that is Cle with 7 west losses...

Say what you will, but I still believe this is our best team in the last 3 seasons, despite our bench woes. Ron's game is perfect for the post season when it slows down. We are right where we need to be.