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Assuming no moves are made.

Sasha & Ronny both signed.. Joe & Coby in the dleague..

Do we bring Odom off the bench?

We've all talked & talked about how badly we're going to need shooting @ the 3 with the twin towers in the paint.. If no moves are made for this shooter/defender everyone wants, do we start Radman?

We all know SF's beat Rad off the dribble all day.. But what alot of people fail to realize is that we're going to have Andrew Bynum back. A fair comparision would be Peja in New Orleans. His man torches him all day but it doesn't kill the team because they have Tyson Chandler back there to make them wish they took the contested jumper. Not only do we have Drew, who is on par with Chandler with blocks/altered shots.. We also have a 7 foot PF who averages 1.8 blocks per game for his career.

To me that means when Vlade's shot is falling, the spacing he will provide outweighs the liability on D.

Another reason I think Vlade should start is because we're going to need LO to play alot of PF. Bynum at the max will only be able to give us around 30 minutes per game, probably even less at the start of the season. Not only because of being careful with the knee, but due to the conditioning he lost all this time sitting out. I would much rather have Pau play those 18+ minutes Drew isn't at center than Ronny or Mihm(if he even dresses at all this year). Lets face it without any 2 of LO, Drew & Pau on the floor we will get murdered on the glass, I couldn't count how many rebounds I watched go over Ronny's head this year.

So lets say Drew gives us 30 MPG & Pau gives us 35 MPG going by his career average - with them being split evenly between PF & backup C. That leaves 31 minutes where Pau won't be playing PF for us. Lamar plays 37-38 MPG, so he could come off the bench at PF & still get the same amount of minutes while only having to play SF for 6-7 minutes a game. Spending most of his time at the position he thrives in & creates so many mismatches.

Now the problem.. This leaves Vlade & Trevor splitting atleast 40 MPG at SF. We have our defender & our lights out shooter, just not all in one player. If either or both of them are having bad games, I think our solution is sliding Kobe to the 3 giving the Machine some extra minutes to remind us why we gave him this contract he's seeking.


So my question is this.. If no more moves are made except bringing back our own guys.. Is the answer to our problems bringing LO off the bench?

Please don't come with that generic "you don't bench a guy making 14 mil" response.. It seemed to work pretty well for Ginobli.. Is there any reason why this isn't the best move for us as a team, other than his contract?

Here is my take on the line-ups from another thread and yes it has Odom coming off the bench:

I seriously think he (Ariza) is capable, he has the defense at the 3 we need and if he improves his outside shot, then he is defenitely a starter at the 3, I heard Kurt Rambis or Mitch on PMS (Petros and Money) saying that he has a good form and shot but he says he doesn't like taking 3's. And especially with Bynum and Gasol in the paint, they'll draw so much attention that Ariza would take advantage of the cutting dunks because he does catch defenses off guard with his cuts.

And seriously I'm fed up with Valadimir Radmanovich and we need Luke to help facilitate the bench offense.

Here's how I see it:

Starting 5:
Fish
Kobe
Ariza
Gasol
Bynum

That defense in itself looks great, Fish is still a veteran leader who knows the game well enough to play defense. Kobe can play defense, Ariza has good defense, Gasol is a good defender against PF's, and Bynum is a good shot blocker and has length.

The Bench:

Farmar
Sasha
Luke
Odom/Ronny
Mihm/Filler

Here is the interesting part, Odom is a good player when he has the ball in his hands often at times, I think he and Luke to some extent can run the bench. Odom is better coming off the bench despite the money he'd be making, but he can replace Ariza early and then run with the bench as well (like a Manu).

And in crunch time we can have:

Kobe
Ariza
Odom
Gasol
Bynum

Although this line-up doesn't provide stretching the floor, we can still have a big size advantage and length both on offense and lock teams down on defense.

SPuL i have the same expectations you do that lamar is going to play heavy minutes at pf. it makes a lot of sense to have a pau/bynum, lamar/pau, or lamar/bynum frontcourt at all times. turiaf and mihm shouldn't be getting regular minutes when u can have one of those duo's not giving the opposition a break all game.

only thing i disagree with is your assertion that lamar only play 6-7 minutes at sf. he's probably going to play a bit more, and i'd expect those sf minutes to come at the start of the game. doesn't matter though, lamar was routinely the lone starter with the bench last yr.

people will argue that lamar makes too much money to come off the bench but if he's playing his 32-37 minutes it doesn't matter.

Trading Lamar is the answer.

We need Odom's rebounding still. Alot of teams have gotten better. We are going to have to deal with Portland and all there rebounding, we are gonna have to deal with the Clippers now who have added Davis and Gorden and rebounding is something we will have over everybody.
Also RADMAN SUCKS. Starting him over Odom means more minutes for him and less for our other 3 stars. Stupid no matter which way you slice it. Also I believe Odom can defend a 3 better then Radman who just can't defend anybody.

SPuL wrote:

We all know SF's beat Rad off the dribble all day.. But what alot of people fail to realize is that we're going to have Andrew Bynum back. A fair comparision would be Peja in New Orleans. His man torches him all day but it doesn't kill the team because they have Tyson Chandler back there to make them wish they took the contested jumper. Not only do we have Drew, who is on par with Chandler with blocks/altered shots.

What you failed to acknowledge is one of Andrew Bynum's greatest weakness: Staying out of foul trouble.

We all know one of the reasons Bynum's minutes were greatly limited by PJ was because of his vulnerability to foul out (or, be in foul trouble). Before he went down, Bynum was used down the stretch in crunch-time situations. This wouldnt be possible if PJ gave Bynum big minutes early because he knows opposing teams would milk the cow that is the Lakers' weak perimeter defense, which will either result in easy mid-range shots, open layups, or two free free throws with a vulnerable Bynum down low.

I dunno if Bynum studied to improve his footwork through videos and whatnot while injured, but for one reason or another, I dont think he improved (or will improve) this aspect of the game this summer.

dexmor is on point...and ey kno..

ive been trying to contact you but it wouldnt let me..so ill ask you through here...did u make a artest jersey switch?? not a sig but just a picture of him on the lakers?

Nope, I havent.

Only jersey switch ive done on Artest is the sig tkb is wearing now. It wasnt a full switch, just the top part of the jersey.

Dexmor wrote:We need Odom's rebounding still. Alot of teams have gotten better. We are going to have to deal with Portland and all there rebounding, we are gonna have to deal with the Clippers now who have added Davis and Gorden and rebounding is something we will have over everybody.
Also RADMAN SUCKS. Starting him over Odom means more minutes for him and less for our other 3 stars. Stupid no matter which way you slice it. Also I believe Odom can defend a 3 better then Radman who just can't defend anybody.

I guess you didn't read my post?

I clearly stated that LO can get 31 minutes a night just backing up PF.. with another 6-7 minutes per game playing SF.. He would still play more minutes than anyone not named Kobe Bryant.

I think it really all comes down to this. Would you rather have Vlade get minutes stretching the D & Ariza get minutes playing that tough D that we need.. Or would you rather those 2 get less minutes & see Turiaf & Mihm on the floor for long stretches?

It's an easy decision for me..

I can't think of any scenario in which Odom comes off the bench, especially in a contract year. Might as well trade him.

And if the Bynum-Gasol-Odom frontcourt doesn't work by Christmas at the latest, Odom must be traded.

Odom probably will play a reasonable amount of PF, but he has to start at SF, and unless Turiaf, Mihm, Mbegna all get zero playing time, Odom will have to succeed at SF. Can't cut corners.

Odom will get some run with the second unit, no doubt, but If we are to succeed as a team, Bynum and Gasol must play significant minutes. That means Odom must succeed with the starters.

If we're looking to hide Odom, we need to trade him immediately.

Is bringing lamar off the bench the answer?

Name on player (not counting Knicks Players..LOL) making that kind of money that comes off the bench?

ShowtimeFan wrote:Is bringing lamar off the bench the answer?

Name on player (not counting Knicks Players..LOL) making that kind of money that comes off the bench?

Ginobli comes off the bench for the benefit of the Spurs.

Toni Kukoc was higher paid than Pippen and came off the bench.

I think LO would thrive playing fresh against the opposing teams 2nd string.....

ShowtimeFan wrote:Is bringing lamar off the bench the answer?

Name on player (not counting Knicks Players..LOL) making that kind of money that comes off the bench?

What does the fact that the Heat overpaid when they gave Odom his contract have to do with doing what's best for our team?

By that login Bryan Grant should have started his entire time with the team.. Instead, we did what was best for the team & sat him.. Then cut him..

I have faith that our coaching staff will once again do the smart thing..

I would rather have kwamina play back up center than having Mihm PLay for the lakers ever again.