The Proverbial Switch

LA Forever · Post #1 » by **LA Forever** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:15 pm

Have the Lakers turned it on? What I'm seeing lately after the All-Star Break is a more focused attack on defense. It seems like they finally found out that the pre-season was over and that it's time to play. Phil Jackson probably told the players that it was okay to play defense. Artest's offense also has come out of nowhere, and it's a great sign to see, knowing that the playoffs are roughly 20 games away.

I know it's only 4 games since the break, but it's hard not to be much more optimistic than before the break. I was never truly concerned to the point where I would question if they still had it in them, but seeing how they're playing now is so refreshing as fans. They needed to wake up, and now's the perfect time to. March is put up or shut up month, and they need to take advantage of it.

LApwnd · Post #2 » by **LApwnd** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:23 pm

I'll reserve my judgement until they beat Dall or SA....until then all 4 of the teams they beat were of no threat to them in the playoffs, although I did see alot of grit/determination in both Por/OKC gm that I didn't see before the AS break....normally when we see this team go down DD, they tend to let the game get away from them and brake from offense and get worse defensively....but in those two games, they kept on chipping away and tightening the D which was impressive.

LA Forever · Post #3 » by **LA Forever** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:29 pm

LApwnd wrote:I'll reserve my judgement until they beat Dall or SA....until then all 4 of the teams they beat were of no threat to them in the playoffs

Of course. I guess what I'm really trying to get at is that it's quite exciting to finally seeing them play the way we all know they could, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

LApwnd · Post #4 » by **LApwnd** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:32 pm

LA Forever wrote:
LApwnd wrote:I'll reserve my judgement until they beat Dall or SA....until then all 4 of the teams they beat were of no threat to them in the playoffs

Of course. I guess what I'm really trying to get at is that it's quite exciting to finally seeing them play the way we all know they could, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

yes I'm much more opptomistic seeing how they closed out OKC/Por thats for sure.

TruSkool · Post #5 » by **TruSkool** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:55 pm

id like to see them face san antonio, dallas, miami, ny, boston and orlando to see where they really stand.

LApwnd · Post #6 » by **LApwnd** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:01 pm

iki4life wrote:id like to see them face san antonio, dallas, miami, ny, boston and orlando to see where they really stand.

NY?

Post #7 » by **TyCobb** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:23 pm

Yeah, I think they turned it on. They are definitely trying with playoff effort now. The San Antonio through Orlando stretch will let us know if they are good enough to win the championship with their playoff effort turned on.

Flipdog69xxx · Post #8 » by **Flipdog69xxx** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:55 pm

It's on like donkey kong.

Edrees · Post #9 » by **Edrees** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:26 pm

It's on now, but it was also on when we started our road trip 4-0. Once we hit a 8 or 9 game win streak then I'll get my confidence in this team fully back to what it was at the beginning of the season.

The Skyhook · Post #10 » by **The Skyhook** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:01 pm

I think the "switch" flip during that road trip was a fluke. That is why I am having trouble saying that they have flipped the "switch" right now. The Lakers have a brutal stretch of games coming up in the next few days. If they can perform well during this stretch of games then I will feel comfortable saying that they have flipped the switch.

March 4 - Bobcats
March 6 - @ Spurs
March 8 - @ Hawks
March 10 - @ Heat
March 12 - @ Mavs
March 14 - Magic

All of these games are important to win but I view the Spurs and Mavs as must win games.

AceFresh · Post #11 » by **AceFresh** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:32 pm

Like previous posters mentioned before, the match ups against SAS/Dal are crucial IMO because of not only seeding significance but mentally as well. (0-2 against spurs thus far) (and catching Dallas for playoff positioning)

But even though it is a small sample size since All-Star Break, I agree LAF.. lakers seem ignited out there, Ron looks more relaxed since the trade deadline has passed and Drew has been playing very well.

If we can extend this nice stretch of play into March and heading into April I feel we'll be in good position to send Phil off with another 'ship.

trufan24 · Post #12 » by **trufan24** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:31 pm

dammit why did tony parker have to be injured b4 we face them again....fck now i cant use that game as measuring stick mainly because tp is crucial to spurs' success

Jetset · Post #13 » by **Jetset** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:40 pm

trufan24 wrote:dammit why did tony parker have to be injured b4 we face them again....fck now i cant use that game as measuring stick mainly because tp is crucial to spurs' success

All you need to know is that when it comes down to a 7 game series, they cant see us. Although the Heat aren't any threat to us coming out of the West, I'm more interested to the March 10th game. I want to see how this team responds by getting blown out on Christmas day on their own floor. All of the respectable teams have gotten a win over the trio, lets see what we can do. Thats the measuring stick.

crazy8ights · Post #14 » by **crazy8ights** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:43 pm

I wish you hadn't posted this till after we come away with a win against SAS & DAL. It is good to see artest contributing to the games now so much that it stands out. Then again we have won 4 then then went on a losing streak before :roll:

I'm not sold yet...

Edrees · Post #15 » by **Edrees** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:45 pm

I'm beginning to accept that we won't catch the spurs so I think the dallas game is much more crucial than the spurs game

The Laker Kid · Post #16 » by **The Laker Kid** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:10 pm

I think that sometime after the loss to Cleveland, Phil gathered everyone in his house at exactly 11:59 pm and the entire team turned on the switch. That might explain Kobe's all-star performance that Sunday night. So yeah, this switch is officially ON now.

Imadogg · Post #17 » by **Imadogg** » Tue Mar 1, 2011 12:04 am

We won 4 straight (including a win over Boston) where people were saying we finally turned it on, before losing 3 straight during which everyone panicked.

I hope this streak gets extended to 11, just to show we're super beast

KB24TBOTB · Post #18 » by **KB24TBOTB** » Tue Mar 1, 2011 3:11 am

As of right now it could be just another fluke but from seeing them grind out the games in okc/por shows that they are more into games. Had this been the lakers before the break one we were down in the 4th quarter we would have just rolled over and gotten blown out. Just like some of the posters above I'll hold my opinion till we're finished that tough stretch in March

I hope some of you guys are right!

DEEP3CL · Post #19 » by **DEEP3CL** » Tue Mar 1, 2011 5:03 am

Like Skyhook said let's wait until that 1st week of March is over.

LA Forever · Post #20 » by **LA Forever** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 2:33 am

So far, so good. 7-0 since the break.