Laker's supporting cast - over rated ?

CHIMOCHI · Post #41 » by **CHIMOCHI** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:21 am

In 15.7 attempts MO shot .49% in the clutch
In 15.5 attempts PAU shot .63% in the clutch

Wade2k6 · Post #42 » by **Wade2k6** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:08 pm

Anybody who thinks the Lakers cast is even the least bit overrated, needs to get their head checked out. There's absolutely no way that supporting cast is overrated.

nonplayerzealot · Post #43 » by **nonplayerzealot** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:09 pm

HouMac wrote::lol:

Are for you real? Every **** person on earth would take Kobe's cast over LeBron's if they had to win 1 game...or if they had to choose which team would EASILY win more games in an 82-game regular season. Who in their right mind would choose Z/Varejao/Pavlovic/West/Mo over Bynum/Gasol/Odom/Ariza/Fisher with Phil on the sidelines? Look at the humungous difference in talent!! Bynum/Gasol alone are worth more than Cleveland's entire **** roster.

It's a very enjoyable team for the most part with a lot of likeable characters. But I'd trade the whole lot of them for the 2001 versions of Shaq, Horry, and Fox. GLADLY.

The most maddening aspect about this year's Lakers team is that they can't stand success. As an aside, I wish there was more than one prick on this team other than Kobe. A little tension is good now and then, sharpens the focus. Kobe's got himself a fiefdom where no one says boo to him anymore.

nonplayerzealot · Post #44 » by **nonplayerzealot** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:12 pm

Wade2k6 wrote:Anybody who thinks the Lakers cast is even the least bit overrated, needs to get their head checked out. There's absolutely no way that supporting cast is overrated.

They're overrated in the sense that they don't give a rat's ass about maximizing their talent. They won 65 games in a largely half-assed manner while Cleveland squoze blood out of rocks all season.

Promezclan · Post #45 » by **Promezclan** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:15 pm

LOL, so you'd trade them for one of the most dominant players of all time? Man, they must suck. To be frank, I'd trade Varejao and Boobie Gibson for Michael Jordan, though.

Frosty · Post #46 » by **Frosty** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:32 pm

Silver Bullet wrote:I am a Kobe fan but I am a Lebron fan as well.

My logic is this:
You can't count on most of the Lakers to make a clutch bucket.
So other teams can clog the paint, specially in the 4th quarter - and double or even Quasi triple Kobe.
Kobe can't defend all 5 guys - like last night, if Gasol had managed to get a stop even once in the last 2 mins, it wouldn't have come down to a game winning play.
Now individually the Lakers have good players, but I like the Cavs mix much much better.
I would rather have a team of Kirk Hinrich - good outside shooter, good defender, not a sissy
Kobe,
Kapono - clutch, deadeye outside shooter
K-Mart
Bynum

Talent wise, this team would probably be much worse than the current mix, but you have clutch shooting, good defense and a team that complements your one star player. This is exactly how the Cavs are built. If you put someone like Chris Bosh on that team, or Baron Davis or another soft quasi-all star, I think that team would get worse, not better.

So the conclusion is this, IMO, the Lakers supporting cast is horrendously over rated and I will be very surprised if they can win the title if it's a close series - no matter what Kobe does. I think even Utah would've had a fairly decent chance of upsetting them if they had Okur.

Why is it Kobe's teammates are always considered underachievers? I mean could it do with the fact he's never trusted them? And admitted as much? Could it be they are so used to him going into KoMe mode that they wouldn't know what to do with it if he actually passed during crunch time? Nah, like all the great Kobe gets everything he can out of his team and mentally prepares them for their chance if it comes.

This thread smells like an attempt to lay the groundwork for an excuse if LA doesn't win it. Anyone in the league would drool over playing on a team with LA's front line.

nonplayerzealot · Post #47 » by **nonplayerzealot** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:33 pm

Promezclan wrote:LOL, so you'd trade them for one of the most dominant players of all time? Man, they must suck. To be frank, I'd trade Varejao and Boobie Gibson for Michael Jordan, though.

I was alluding to this current version not stacking up to the Shaq teams, twat.

Post #48 » by **Rerisen** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:40 pm

The Cavs 'supporting cast' is not as talented as the Lakers, so if anyone would prefer them, why? Why do they play better as a team or focus more consistently on defense? Why are the Lakers 'soft' and not the Cavs? Is it the coach, is Mike Brown a better motivational coach than Phil Jackson? Is it the leaders of the team? Does LeBron set a better example or encourage/lead his team better than Kobe?

I'm not saying he does or doesn't but just presenting it as option. I don't know why whenever the Lakers falter, there has to be this rush to say the Lakers supporting cast sucks or are overrated.

Kobay · Post #49 » by **Kobay** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:50 pm

players are fine, they are young, its coaching thats horrible.

Post #50 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:18 pm

I'm not surprised that the thread creator would think this, since Kobe is like his second greatest player of all time(behind Prime Shaq).

Also not surprised at the people who do call the cast overrated.

Promezclan · Post #51 » by **Promezclan** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:43 pm

nonplayerzealot wrote:
Promezclan wrote:LOL, so you'd trade them for one of the most dominant players of all time? Man, they must suck. To be frank, I'd trade Varejao and Boobie Gibson for Michael Jordan, though.

I was alluding to this current version not stacking up to the Shaq teams, twat.

Exactly, I know you were. And I'm saying that the fact that their current supporting cast doesn't stack up to one with Shaq, one of the most dominant players ever, with a 30+ PER, is hardly an insult or proof that they are overrated.

microfib4thewin · Post #52 » by **microfib4thewin** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:25 pm

I think team defense is getting underrated here. Getting good role players who knows how to run an offense is only half of the equation. If said players can't play defense consistently then having talent is not going to ensure victory everytime. Lebron didn't defeat the Pistons by himself, nor was he solely responsible for making the Celtics go to 7 games. He was able to do it because Cav's defense has always been able to slow down the star scorers on the other team. If Kobe was shooting 42% everyone would jump on him, that's how well Lebron was shooting when he played the Cs. He certainly didn't make the series close because of some innate magic.

I have always believed that Mike Brown is underrated in the last two years. As someone else said, you get a more offensive minded coach, he might make this team score 6 more points but give up 15 more. To be able to coach someone like Lebron and motivate the 11 other guys to play defense while getting minimal touches is an amazing accomplishment. Phil Jackson said to this day he still couldn't get Kobe to always play the way he wanted to, imagine what Brown, who before was just an assistant coach, had to do to get Lebron to follow his lead.

stephanieg · Post #53 » by **stephanieg** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:46 pm

You would think after years and years of defensive juggernauts winning titles people would stop picking the glittery offense bad defense teams to win it all while describing them as "so much more talented," whatever that's supposed to mean. But they keep getting punched in the face. Maybe they like that coppery taste.

realfung · Post #54 » by **realfung** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:06 pm

never rated them high

Chris435 · Post #55 » by **Chris435** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:14 pm

Their bench hasn't changed much over the course of the season, but losing Radmanovic combined with the reduced play from Farmar and Vujacic is definitely an issue with the Lakers.

Storm Surge · Post #56 » by **Storm Surge** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:22 pm

Chris435 wrote:Their bench hasn't changed much over the course of the season, but losing Radmanovic combined with the reduced play from Farmar and Vujacic is definitely an issue with the Lakers.

lol Radmanovic? He was a scrub who did nothing but shoot threes. Ariza is so much better than him it's not even funny.

Duiz · Post #57 » by **Duiz** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:23 pm

Who would Kobe prefer? Deron Williams' supporting cast or LeBron James' supporting cast?

SimonAdebisi · Post #58 » by **SimonAdebisi** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:44 pm

The Lakers are overrated in general, and that's the key here. Your opinion of them is based on your original perception about the team. I believe the Lakers are a great team, the 2nd best in the NBA, but I don't believe they're a historic team like the media would like us to believe. So no, Kobe's supporting cast isn't overrated to me, because they are who I thought they were. From a talent perspective, their greatness is certainly in the debate, but I don't think they're anywhere close to the Lakers 3-peat teams, I don't think they're better than the '99, 2003, and 2005 Spurs, the Celtics title team, and maybe the Pistons title team.

The Lakers are definitely the best in the NBA from a talent perspective though, and possibly overall. This speaks more of a weak year in the NBA IMO. The biggest thing that excites people about the Lakers team is the potential in the next few years, which I completely agree with. In 2 years, Kobe will still be a great player, so will Gasol, and Bynum will possibly have developed into a beast, which is the key.

Currently, Bynum can't be relied upon at all to be a defensive anchor or rebounding beast. He still makes a difference due to his size, but he's a scorer right now, which doesn't exactly help the Lakers in a big way. If Bynum can add that to his game with maturity in the next 2 years, then the Lakers will truly be scary.

TonyMontana · Post #59 » by **TonyMontana** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:06 pm

Ya Kobe's overrated, so is his cast and they are going to lose this series to the Jazz, and IM NOT SEXY.
Did I mention there is just way too much Laker love on this board too.

ponder276 · Post #60 » by **ponder276** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:21 pm

- Gasol is the best #2 option on any playoff team
- Bynum is a top 10 C
- Odom is one of the best 6th men in the league, and is definitely the best bench big in the league
- Ariza is a great glue-guy
- Fisher is a seasoned vet who can play d and shoot

That's an excellent supporting cast. And while Gasol is a touch soft, the other 4 players in the starting lineup are quite tough (Fisher, Kobe, Ariza and Bynum). This truly is a great supporting cast, and it's certainly a better supporting cast than what LeBron is working with.

And for people who say they have bad team defense, they had the 6th best defensive rating in the league, and it was even better when Bynum was in the lineup.

Kobe has a great supporting cast, and guess what? The Lakers are a great team! I think it's funny that some Kobe nut-huggers are already making excuses, the Lakers could very well win the championship this year!