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We know our biggest problem is PG D, but it isn't our only problem.

We keep talking about how our next biggest problem is that Bynum can't play well with Gasol. I think we have shown enough data to show that this is true, so who's fault is it?

The answer may surprise some, and I say it is Fisher and Farmar's fault to a large degree. As I watched the Raptors game there were many times that Bynum would have post position and Fisher or Farmar would be afraid to throw the pass. Sometimes Bynum would wait and wait, only to watch the ball get swung to the other side of the court, end up in Kobe's hands with 5 seconds on the shot clock and he missed a contested jumper. Other times Bynum would wait and wait and battle more and finally get the ball, but end up having to rush due to the shot clock and end up missing (on one such occasion Pau saved the play with a nice follow up jam). Then I watched Shannon Brown. Brown seemed fearless passing into the post, if Bynum had anywhere near good position on his man he would send it in there. Apparently none of them ended with Bynum scoring a FG, but I think he got fouled a couple, and was forced to pass out of a double team a couple of others. I don't think Farmar or Fisher are selfish, I think they just lack confidence in this area. Brown, Artest, Odom, Walton, even Sasha seem to have no problem passing into the post, but our 2 pg's are afraid to and it is killing us.

Maybe Bynum could play better with Pau if the ball went into the post more. I think getting more touches would solve the problem, and I believe that it isn't just Bynum who needs more post touches, Gasol needs more to. Getting the ball in the hands of Bynum (56.5%), and Gasol (51.2% and a great passer) will greatly help the next problem.

Problem #2 - Offensive Efficiency:

45.8% from the field is unacceptable for a group this talented. 34.2% from 3 is horrible. Both of these could be improved by fixing #1. We would get more high percentage looks (closer shots), less end of shot clock bad shots, and hopefully even more wide open 3's from kick out passes, especially from Gasol. Also I know you guys will hate this, but I think Sasha needs to get some legitimate minutes to see if he can get hot on 3's. He should get a lot of Brown's minutes at the 2, while Brown should get more than half of the minutes at PG.

Problem #3 - Bynum's rebounding

Bynum has not been rebounding as well as he should, and I see 4 main reasons (2 general, 1 strictly on D, and 1 on Offense)

1. Bynum is just now seeming to get some lift + comfort jumping back. Most of the season he has struggled with that. Hopefully this one is taking care of itself.
2. This may be related to the above, but Bynum just hasn't seemed aggressive.
3. On Defensivve boards it seems he is often times out of position because he is trying to block a shot (most often due to Fisher or Farmar letting a PG destroy us). Part of the blame is on the PG defense, but also Bynum has to get better at knowing when to go for blocks and when to sit back and hold his ground.
4. On offensive boards the paint is too crowded, in 07-08 he was our only player planted in the post, so often times it was him versus his defender for those boards. Now often times it is him versus his defender, Gasol's defender, and sometimes even Gasol.

I was wondering if your post comes in quickread version?

It hasn't been consistent going to post to both Gasol and Bynum.

The Lakers just look like a confused bunch at times on offense. They don't really have an identity right now. Saying they run the triangle is a myth because most of the offense lately is Kobe in isolation. With Kobe, Gasol and Bynum all on the floor it just seems the Lakers have little idea how they want to attack. Do they establish Bynum/and or Gasol down low or let Kobe do his thing? Meanwhile, two other talented offensive players in Odom and Artest are just kind of trying to figure out exactly what it is they are to do while this give and take goes on between Kobe, Gasol and Bynum.

I think a lot of this could be resolved if Kobe were to make a concerted effort to involve these guys a little more at the beginning of games. Last year, Kobe seemed to be a lot more willing to be a facilitator especially in the beginning of games. This allowed Gasol, Odom, Bynum(when he was healthy) and Ariza to gain confidence and often find their offensive grooves early. This season Kobe seems hell bent sometimes on getting his shots regardless of opponent or situation.

REMEMBER GUYS THIS TEAMS BUILT FOR THE PLAYOFFS HAVE FAITH!

First off, let me state that I'm on this board out of pure respect. You franchise is a measuring stick for not only the club that I hold allegiance to (MAVS) but to nearly every other club that isn't the Celtics or Bulls.

Now, you guys have a similar roster to last year's championship squad w/ the main difference being Ron-Ron over Ariza (obvious upgrade). However, the Assoc. is structured so that it is impossible to build a squad that dominates all 29 other teams. The pre-season expectations for LAL were high & there is 5 weeks left. Subtracting homerism from the equation and viewing the West objectively, how does LAL's chances compare this year to last year's? If you guys were to make it to the Finals, would you fear a match up against LBJ's Cavs? Does Dallas' re-tooled squad & the match-ups it presents worry you at all?

Would love to get LA fans perspective. As much as I would love a waltz to the title as a fan, being able to truly earn it (or not) obviously is truly important. Here's hoping that if they don't somehow don't beat you guys, then everyone gets to see LBS vs. Kobe.

i have to agree...
the lakers are not constructed to be a regular season team....
this is strictly a playoff team....players such as artest, fisher, and odom are my examples

We just beat the Suns. That is a good statement. Now we just need to be more focused and ready game to game. Some easy games coming up. Those we need to win and hope all can help in the win. Kobe can not do it every game. Balance is the key.

DickMotta4Prez wrote:First off, let me state that I'm on this board out of pure respect. You franchise is a measuring stick for not only the club that I hold allegiance to (MAVS) but to nearly every other club that isn't the Celtics or Bulls.

Now, you guys have a similar roster to last year's championship squad w/ the main difference being Ron-Ron over Ariza (obvious upgrade). However, the Assoc. is structured so that it is impossible to build a squad that dominates all 29 other teams. The pre-season expectations for LAL were high & there is 5 weeks left. Subtracting homerism from the equation and viewing the West objectively, how does LAL's chances compare this year to last year's? If you guys were to make it to the Finals, would you fear a match up against LBJ's Cavs? Does Dallas' re-tooled squad & the match-ups it presents worry you at all?

Would love to get LA fans perspective. As much as I would love a waltz to the title as a fan, being able to truly earn it (or not) obviously is truly important. Here's hoping that if they don't somehow don't beat you guys, then everyone gets to see LBS vs. Kobe.

Thanks for the kind words.

Generally, I would say that our chances to win the championship this year are about the same as they were last year (at least at the moment). LAL currently has the #1 seed in the conference (by a slim margin, admittedly) therefore they have the easiest route to the Finals because they would play #8 in the 1st Round, the winner of #4-#5 in the 2nd Round, and the next-best team in the WCF. With home court advantage, I have a much harder time seeing Dallas or Denver upsetting us.

That could change quickly though. Caron Butler is a very nice second scoring option. We all knew instantly that that was a GREAT trade. I still feel the Lakers would have a considerable size advantage (which they pretty much have over every other team) so IF they are able to exploit it, I think size wins out most of the time, especially in a 7-game series. But yes, Dallas AND Denver are both really good teams... both teams have their strengths and weaknesses. I don't think the Lakers have ever played the Mavs in the playoffs... I know not in the last decade...

I wouldn't say fear, but I'd certainly be concerned about playing Dallas and Denver with either (or both) having home-court. I honestly believe that Dallas' best chance to beat the Lakers is to steal the #1 seed from them in the regular season. If the Lakers have the #1 seed, they are favorites to repeat as conference champs vs either Dallas or Denver.

In the East, the only team that concerns me is Cleveland, especially with home-court and a 2-3-2 Finals format. Cleveland has SIZE, and Lebron is unbelievable. He seems like he's on a mission. LAL vs. CLE would be pretty epic.

But if Orlando or Boston comes out of the East, as was the case last year, I strongly believe that the Lakers repeat.

The biggest roadblock to the Lakers repeating is that their chemistry are not where it was last year or the year before. The defense wasn't as good as this year, but everyone knew what they were supposed to do when they're on the offensive side of things. Good defense leads to championships, but without a good offense you would have a ton of trouble making it all the way to the Finals. Our road record already shows that this team is very inconsistent, combined with the sub .500 record against the top 5 team from each conference and you have reasons to wonder if they are really the favorite out West. Dallas has picked up their stride with a balanced roster, Denver is continuing to improve from last year, and this team has actually regressed with the lackadaisical approach from Phil and not finding an answer with the Pau/Bynum frontcourt. I think it would do some good if the team struggles to the point where they lose the #1 seed, maybe then they will play with some urgency.

VIPER8382 wrote:We know our biggest problem is PG D, but it isn't our only problem.

We keep talking about how our next biggest problem is that Bynum can't play well with Gasol. I think we have shown enough data to show that this is true, so who's fault is it?

The answer may surprise some, and I say it is Fisher and Farmar's fault to a large degree. As I watched the Raptors game there were many times that Bynum would have post position and Fisher or Farmar would be afraid to throw the pass. Sometimes Bynum would wait and wait, only to watch the ball get swung to the other side of the court, end up in Kobe's hands with 5 seconds on the shot clock and he missed a contested jumper. Other times Bynum would wait and wait and battle more and finally get the ball, but end up having to rush due to the shot clock and end up missing (on one such occasion Pau saved the play with a nice follow up jam). Then I watched Shannon Brown. Brown seemed fearless passing into the post, if Bynum had anywhere near good position on his man he would send it in there. Apparently none of them ended with Bynum scoring a FG, but I think he got fouled a couple, and was forced to pass out of a double team a couple of others. I don't think Farmar or Fisher are selfish, I think they just lack confidence in this area. Brown, Artest, Odom, Walton, even Sasha seem to have no problem passing into the post, but our 2 pg's are afraid to and it is killing us.

Maybe Bynum could play better with Pau if the ball went into the post more. I think getting more touches would solve the problem, and I believe that it isn't just Bynum who needs more post touches, Gasol needs more to. Getting the ball in the hands of Bynum (56.5%), and Gasol (51.2% and a great passer) will greatly help the next problem.

Problem #2 - Offensive Efficiency:

45.8% from the field is unacceptable for a group this talented. 34.2% from 3 is horrible. Both of these could be improved by fixing #1. We would get more high percentage looks (closer shots), less end of shot clock bad shots, and hopefully even more wide open 3's from kick out passes, especially from Gasol. Also I know you guys will hate this, but I think Sasha needs to get some legitimate minutes to see if he can get hot on 3's. He should get a lot of Brown's minutes at the 2, while Brown should get more than half of the minutes at PG.

Problem #3 - Bynum's rebounding

Bynum has not been rebounding as well as he should, and I see 4 main reasons (2 general, 1 strictly on D, and 1 on Offense)

1. Bynum is just now seeming to get some lift + comfort jumping back. Most of the season he has struggled with that. Hopefully this one is taking care of itself.
2. This may be related to the above, but Bynum just hasn't seemed aggressive.
3. On Defensivve boards it seems he is often times out of position because he is trying to block a shot (most often due to Fisher or Farmar letting a PG destroy us). Part of the blame is on the PG defense, but also Bynum has to get better at knowing when to go for blocks and when to sit back and hold his ground.
4. On offensive boards the paint is too crowded, in 07-08 he was our only player planted in the post, so often times it was him versus his defender for those boards. Now often times it is him versus his defender, Gasol's defender, and sometimes even Gasol.

Well said. One more thing I will add tp Bynum's rebounding woes is especially on the offensive end once someone puts a body on him he appears to give up thinking he might p/u a foul. He has to learn the swim move & some trickery & i guarentee you he would get at least 2 more offensive rebounds per game just from that type of hustle alone.

LOOK AT WHAT RON DID FOR THE ROCKETS TOOK US TO A GAME 7 LOOK WHAT FISH AND ODOM DID IN THE PLAY OFFS STRICKLY PLAYOFF TEAM