Is offense really the problem?

[LAFan24]

I understand that our offense is leading to turnovers, but watching the game last night, a lot of the turnovers were caused by stupid errors (ex. Metta's awkward dribbling leading to 6 TO) and not fully being used to this new offense.

Otherwise these numbers from our big men and Kobe overt he last TWO games look pretty good to me....

Pau: 19.5 PPG (46% FG), 11 RPG (3.5 OF) & 4 APG
Dwight: 26 PPG (63% FG), 12 RPG (5.0 OF) & 3.5 APG
Kobe: 26 PPG (62% FG), 3.5 RPG (1 OF) & 1.5 APG
Total: 71 PPG, 26.5 RPB and 9 APG

seems like the APG are spread out so everyone is sharing the ball. The only problem I see is that Nash isn't being fully utilized wih the starters. Wouldn't it make more sense to take him out early in the 1st Q and let him help our bench out.

And ofcourse our DEFENSE which I think is our main issue. I honestly think that this new offense will help this team out in the long run, just gotta give it a few games.

Only thing about Mike is that he makes bad substitutions/rotations and doesn't manage minutes well.

[DonJay21]

No. I dont think so. The last game was good as far as scoring, Our big three had a really good scoring night, but when your not stopping the team on "D" and turning over the ball alot, they will continue lose games like this. I think the Lakers will improve with time together on the court.

[Kobean]

No, the offense looks pretty good and its going to get better, its the turnovers that are killing us and the lack of effort on defense, if that gets fixed then we will be pretty damn hard to stop.

[Mass Rig]

The offense is fine, except for the fact that we are giving up too many turnovers that lead to easy buckets. The other problem is defensive rebounding and inside defense.

[desertlakerfan]

YES!

Poor decisions on the offensive end lead to turnovers and unbalanced floor spacing for transition defense. Our half court defense has not been horrible, it's even been solid at times with Howard controlling the paint, it's the transition opportunities that are truly killing us these games due to our offense being all over the place.

We had 24 turnovers in Portland, Im sorry but no team is going to win on the road with that many miscues. Once the offense starts to gel instead of just playing off talent alone, we'll see fewer turnovers and in turn teams will have to go up against our half court defense more often than not.

[Jajwanda]

Eventually Nash will play heavy minutes with the backup guys and be allowed to run P and R as well as dish to guys like Meeks, Ebanks, Jamison in the corner, and Hill. That would pretty much take over of any bench problems.

Blake looks good in the Princeton. As far as Nash's overall fit, the P and R option is available every time. (Bibby-Webber combo in Sacramento)

[Kobean]

Eventually Nash will play heavy minutes with the backup guys and be allowed to run P and R as well as dish to guys like Meeks, Ebanks, Jamison in the corner, and Hill. That would pretty much take over of any bench problems.

Blake looks good in the Princeton. As far as Nash's overall fit, the P and R option is available every time. (Bibby-Webber combo in Sacramento)

I would love to see Nash get some minutes with the bench, I like the idea of playing Nash with Meeks, Ebanks, Jamison and Howard because he could do alot with that lineup.

[dockingsched]

i don't think offense is THE problem, but its part of the problem. the turnovers are simply killing the defense, no way around it. what's encouraging though, and supported by the stats you posted, is that when the offense is working, its working quite well. once players feel more comfortable, are making quick decisive cuts/passes, and players understand their role a little better (MWP), turnovers are going to diminish and the defense is going to be able to get set. in addition, players are going to be energized from always being involved on offense.

another big part that OP mentioned that i agree with is floor balance. players are gonna know where to be and be in better position to defend against the unforeseen TO or long rebound turned into a semi-fast break.

[Slava]

Pretty sure Kobe shooting 62% will be an anomaly but like dock mentioned the turnovers are the major issue and this arises from not having a secondary ball handler when either Nash or Kobe is on the bench or the ball ending up in the hands of Metta Peace due either to unfamiliarity in the offense or just bad decision making from Metta.

Man, I miss LO here.

[ennui]

I think we can agree that Metta needs to handle the ball less.

Other than the points mentioned, I believe some of these early season woes have to be attributed to players not wanting to step on one another's toes. ESPN LA has a good article comparing us to the initial formation of the Heat and the similar struggles they faced. I think a little more aggression and less deferring could do wonders as well.

[Kilroy]

Bad offensive execution usually equals bad defensive execution.

That said, chemistry is our main problem... As in, guys figuring out how best to play together on both ends of the floor.

[JustAwesome]

I think we can agree that Metta needs to handle the ball less.

I believe that one of the reasons why Bryant pushed so heavily for the Princeton offense was so that guys like Artest would not be handling the ball a lot and trying to create. He was hoping that Artest would learn how to score within the system instead.

[LAFan24]

I think we can agree that Metta needs to handle the ball less.

I believe that one of the reasons why Bryant pushed so heavily for the Princeton offense was so that guys like Artest would not be handling the ball a lot and trying to create. He was hoping that Artest would learn how to score within the system instead.

I don't get what he's thinking, does he not realize that he needs to be a roleplayer and start focusing on knocking down 3s? That's the whole point, kobe/howard will get double teamed and throw it back out to artest for a wide open three. If he feels like he needs a bigger role, why not let him come off the bench and do his thing

[Slava]

Well.. the problem with Artest is that if he doesn't touch the ball for consecutive plays, he almost certainly either puts a shot up or tries to dribble drive or post up.

I was watching the Blazers feed and the commentators as bad as they were, pretty much called every one of Artest's bad plays a good 3 seconds before they happened.

[LAFan24]

Well.. the problem with Artest is that if he doesn't touch the ball for consecutive plays, he almost certainly either puts a shot up or tries to dribble drive or post up.

I was watching the Blazers feed and the commentators as bad as they were, pretty much called every one of Artest's bad plays a good 3 seconds before they happened.

Yeah, it's obviosuly an EGO thing, he still thinks he's a elite defender/scorer. I say let him roll with the bench and give Ebanks a chance to get consistent minutes

[Wreckus13]

I think metta will figure out his role in time. IMO he's just trying too hard to fit in and he's trying to help create some offense but that's not what he's good at. If he adjusts to the offense I can see him doing damage cutting to the basket ala Matrix in Phoenix.

[Luxury]

I think we can agree that Metta needs to handle the ball less.

I believe that one of the reasons why Bryant pushed so heavily for the Princeton offense was so that guys like Artest would not be handling the ball a lot and trying to create. He was hoping that Artest would learn how to score within the system instead.

I don't get what he's thinking, does he not realize that he needs to be a roleplayer and start focusing on knocking down 3s? That's the whole point, kobe/howard will get double teamed and throw it back out to artest for a wide open three. If he feels like he needs a bigger role, why not let him come off the bench and do his thing

Yup MWP needs to strictly do the following: just hit 3s on kick-outs, cut/dive from weakside, postup, run the wings on fastbreaks, and only handle the ball during break away dunks. That's it, he doesn't have to try anything else. But MWP has been solid on the defensive end, cant complain there.

[Slava]

Well.. the problem with Artest is that if he doesn't touch the ball for consecutive plays, he almost certainly either puts a shot up or tries to dribble drive or post up.

I was watching the Blazers feed and the commentators as bad as they were, pretty much called every one of Artest's bad plays a good 3 seconds before they happened.

Yeah, it's obviosuly an EGO thing, he still thinks he's a elite defender/scorer. I say let him roll with the bench and give Ebanks a chance to get consistent minutes

You don't necessarily need to move anyone to the bench and further create chemistry issues. Just start with the regular line up and move Nash/Pau to the bench early, let Blake and Jamison roll with the starters to space for Howard and Kobe. D12 can mask Jamison's defense.

Bring Pau, and Nash when Kobe and Dwight sit and you have a nice up-tempo line up with Nash/Meeks/Ebanks/Hill/Pau. These guys can all score from 15 ft out, you got some toughness in Hill alongside Pau and you have a creater in Nash.

Playing Blake as the solo ball-handler with the bench is just a terrible option when Meeks/Ebanks are not great ball handlers either. That's pretty much where the offensive lulls and turnovers get forced.
Add to the fact we are playing Jamison at 3 with Howard and Hill and that's just not commonsense. Lack of familiarity with offense is not an excuse for these rotation mistakes.

[Luxury]

Team-wise,

Defensively:
-Get back in transition.
-First line of D starts on perimeter -- PnR defenders have to be able to direct/re-route into help defenders
-Help defenders have to help properly (stupid Pau, need more footspeed from PF position)
-More communication on switching, hedging, and screens.
-Have to be selectively more aggressive, not just reactive
-Contest without fouling, no bail outs. If you foul, foul hard enough.
-Rebound then push

Offensively during fastbreak or semi-transition:
1a. Nash attack mode 1b. Dwight postup
2. Kobe post/iso
3. Run Princeton during half court set
-No more MWP dribbling, and better spacing (need shooters/stretch 4)
-Seven secs or less, Kobe has freedom to create a shot.

Lastly, we need patience from us Fans. It's a work in progress, we gotta respect the process, and it'll come together.

[dockingsched]

Well.. the problem with Artest is that if he doesn't touch the ball for consecutive plays, he almost certainly either puts a shot up or tries to dribble drive or post up.

I was watching the Blazers feed and the commentators as bad as they were, pretty much called every one of Artest's bad plays a good 3 seconds before they happened.

that sequence was hi-la-rious.

"ron looks confused, he's probably gonna just shoot it right now"

3 seconds later, ron heaves a 3pt shot.