Bench Tension

[The Skyhook]

I found this link when I was looking for Lamar's interview.

http://www.lakersmedia.com/Flash/playof ... rview.html

Its Lamar's post game interview about how the bench played poorly. Towards the middle of the interview he brings up tensions and how the 2nd unit keep growing apart. We all knew the bench played bad but I didn't think there was tension between them. It really does concern me because now it is apparent that something ain't right. One can only hope that the front office looks into this and understands that its time to blow this 2nd unit completely. Lamar better be the only one left when it happens.

I think that Farmar and Brown's reckless style of play is really hurting us and causing all these issues.

[bastosbruddah]

it's too bad lamar had to come out and say all that to the media. it should have been kept an in house matter. who do you all think is/are the main culprits? my guess is farmar and sasha, because of their attitudes and egos. more so farmar because sasha ain't even playing right now. then there's shannon with the questionable decisions and shot selection. i also have to agree that shannon is wreckless

[dockingsched]

shannon is a ball stopping shot hog.

[The Skyhook]

Brown is just as guilty as Farmar. They both have their flashy plays but make dumb mistakes that completely outweigh the positives. What the Lakers need is a bench player that can take on the scoring load along with Lamar to keep the team in it. Preferably a SG in my opinion so that someone can legitimately back up Kobe Bryant. Its going to be difficult to bring in 2 or 3 quality bench players so one solid player that can have a big impact makes the most sense to me. The MLE can bring a player like that in but the issue is that we also might have to use that MLE to cover the hole at the starting PG spot. The front office is going to be faced with some tough decisions this summer.

[crazyeights]

it's too bad lamar had to come out and say all that to the media. it should have been kept an in house matter. who do you all think is/are the main culprits? my guess is farmar and sasha, because of their attitudes and egos. more so farmar because sasha ain't even playing right now. then there's shannon with the questionable decisions and shot selection. i also have to agree that shannon is wreckless

I think Lamar knew exactly what he was doing.

[chefy]

wtf are wrong with these dudes...I thought are team chemistry are one of the best in the league..stop acting like a little kids geez

[bastosbruddah]

wouldn't you think calling out your team mates through the media would cause even more tension? let's hope these guys are receptive to the criticism and start playing like they should.

[The Skyhook]

I grow tired of seeing the crap wrong with this bench. Blown leads and all. Most people would consider it a luxury to have Kobe and Pau yet we have Andrew Bynum as our cherry on top. We had Trevor Ariza and as soon as it was clear that he wasn't staying we went and got ourselves Ron Artest. Lamar Odom is the best damn "insurance policy" that money can buy. We are so spoiled with these star type players. Beyond that there is nothing pleasant though and as a fan I would be for exchanging our one of luxuries for quality players. Because in the end if those quality players are doing their jobs in their assigned roles the championship will stay with the Lakers. Winning championships is the ultimate luxury and having a pretty showcase doesn't always mean you are the best.

I really hope that the front office does its job this summer doing it with any moves that have to be made. We need quality players. As everyone made moves this season the Lakers basically stayed the same. Some might come in and say well the same team got us to back to back Finals however teams are catching on. Maybe if Kobe was 28 then we could get away with basically having the same team in tact for 3 seasons.

[dockingsched]

wouldn't you think calling out your team mates through the media would cause even more tension? let's hope these guys are receptive to the criticism and start playing like they should.

i think lamar is the only player on the roster who wouldn't cause any more tension by going public. he's walked the walk as far sacrificing personal goals for the better of the team. also helps he's the heart of the team.

[Asianiac_24]

I'm so glad someone called out the bench. This is getting ridiculous, is it unreasonable to ask our bench to maintain a 9 point lead in 4 minutes? We will lose a crucial game in the playoffs one day because of them.

[DEEP3CL]

The tensions LO is getting at is "game tension"........yeah there is probably some inner tension too, but I agree with everybody here some of these guys got ego problems.

Take Shannon for example, dude was by NBA standards has one foot out the league. Even for a defensive minded coach like Larry Brown, Shannon couldn't sniff the floor. He comes here as a throw in a trade got some confidence and helped out. No sooner than the champagne dried up he's in Toni Braxton's video with Ron Ron. He got a new deal, the first deal he's really earned. Now try to make good on a more long term deal he turned into a jack shooter.

He consistently breaks the flow of the offense, always looking for the home run dunk and would rather play to the crowd than help the team. Truth be told I could care less if he opts out......go ahead and make the same mistake Trevor made.

Now let's look at Jordan.......simply put dude has to go, he's a disaster every minute he's on the court. Y'all can believe what you want but Jordan hated the day Shannon came. Jordan knew his minutes was going to be split the minute Shannon started playing well. We all know Jordan's short comings, he's uncoachable and refuses to believe in the Triangle. It's not secret on why we struggle when he comes in, he's not a lead guard who'll make sure things stay the same.

I went to bat for Jordan when he first came, saying he could be a good to great player if he wanted to be. Dude has gotten worse every single year, I done with Jordan.

Props to LO for crack'in their asses on TV, the line up that was on the floor to start the 4th should've busted that game wide open. You can't point the finger at LO, Luke (who's always a team guy) or Drew.......hell he basically on one leg again but in my eyes he played damn well. So that leaves the other 2........Jordan and Shannon.

[daddyfivestar]

Phil said it too in the post game interview.

When asked about chemistry issues, he specifically answered "not in the first seven".

[supaflash]

PS Wes Mathews is a free agent

[fareweatherfan]

the biggest surprise for me was that Odom was saying it like its really bothering him and he wanted to get it out...he wasn't prodded for a controversial statement about the bench...he offered it up and you could tell from his facial expressions its a pretty big issue.

i'm not too worried though, phil made the proper adjustments agains the thunder...i.e. he generally didn't play too many bench guys together at one time...but in game 1 against the Jazz, he coached it like a regular season game, keeping the bench unit out there together with just Bynum (IIRC) for way too long.

[Kilroy]

If you look at the bench, you got, Farmar, SB, Lamar, Walton and depending on how it's run, sometimes Powell... Lamar and Walton have never been guys that cause tension so I think you can skip them... Powell has a rep of being a big-time glue guy...

Farmar has butted heads with just about everyone on the team at one point or another...

I think it's safe to assume the tension begins and ends with him.

I think Shannon is doing exactly what he's asked to do... I think his role off the bench is shooting gaurd so I think he's encouraged to shoot. He's got no midrange game to speak of so he's relegated to dunks and 3s. I really don't see that as a problem. He's not the greatest ball handler though and I think it's clear we don't want him playing Point now or in the future. Combo/SG is probably the right role for him... And without Sasha, we need him...

I've never been the biggest Jordan Farmar fan and I think his biggest supporters do so mainly based on his time at UCLA... But he's had some good moments... Now I just can't wait for him to be gone...

Sasha can go too... But he's sort of a sad case... I find myself rooting for him and Ammo...

But Farmar just needs gone..

[Edrees]

I think he meant they are growing apart on the court - as in not playing together. I don't think he meant anything off the court at all. He said the crowd gets loud and they stop hearing each other. He meant , literally, that they grow apart on the court and become individual players rather than a unit.

[Sedale Threatt]

Jordan and Brown are always looking for theirs first, so it's no surprise that we'd have a lack of cohesion with the second unit. Disappointing that our veterans haven't rubbed off on them, or been able to set them straight, but there's only so much you can do with deaf ears.

Of the two, I point a much, much bigger finger at Farmar. From Day 1, his body language has just sucked. I think I remember a comment from Rambis when he was here that it was almost like Jordan goes out of his way to defy the coaching staff. It's too bad, because the guy's got talent. But if he doesn't want to be coachable or unselfish, then there's not much you can do.

[Danny Darko]

it's safe to say our guard rotation is garbage. That's garbage 4 deep. nice depth we have. We're going to need a serious rehaul in the offseason with limited resources.

[stunnar0b]

way to state the obvious ^

[stunnar0b]

i just hope Shannon brown got the message