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semi-sentient
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trippy wrote:Damn, I don't mean to sound like a pessimist, but look at how we did in the 4th quarter of last night's game. We blew a double digit lead to a sub .500 team. Apparently, that's the kind of impact that Bynum brings to the game offensively and defensely, but I am confident that our players will step up and management will make the essential changes in order for us to win the game. I see us winning this game, but it might go down to the wire due to fact that we are adjusting to the loss of Bynum.
I think a lot of that had to do with us having to change our game plan without notice, not to mention the emotional impact it probably had on certain teammates. Now that everyone knows the deal, they'll be more focused and ready.
Plenty of guys on our roster are still looking to prove themselves, so I'm confident we'll come out ready for this one.
Kobe's definitely going to start going nutty over the next couple of months though, which is not necessarily a good thing since we'll likely suffer defensively. Hopefully others step up their game instead so that Kobe doesn't have to force the issue. You hear me Odom and Kwame?
"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere." - Carl Sagan
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blix
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Manexx wrote:^^ STFU , Why you defend Kwame so much ? He is probably the worest player in the Lakers history next to Smush.
No he's not...he has a role. Whether or not it's a role he feels he deserves or is comfortable with...he has a role all the same. People need to stop evaluating him as if he's the #1 pick......we get it, he didn't deserve it....but I'd arguably take Kwame over Ben Wallace at this point, all things considered.
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8'sReverse
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Bigmiketruth
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semi-sentient
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Manexx wrote:^^ STFU , Why you defend Kwame so much ? He is probably the worst player in the Lakers history next to Smush.
I'll go ahead and repost this since the other thread was locked.
STFU wrote:^^^ I would say 16-12 is very respectable given the schedule we have, but I'm going to predict 18-10.
We've played VERY well in the past with Kwame starting, and it's important to keep in mind that last year we were all making a big stink about how we needed Kobe+Odom+Walton together in order to be successful. Well guess what? We have those 3 guys together and healthy, but we also have Derek Fisher, who has been a very positive for this team. Let's keep in mind that our bench has made great strides as well. We're much better equipped to handle injuries this year, and it's already shown as we've been impressive even with Luke, Odom, Kwame, Radman, and Turiaf having missed games (31 missed games combined, not including Mihm who hasn't been a factor in years).
Kwame might suck balls when it comes to catching passes, but he does manage to score efficiently and play solid defense. I think we'll struggle at first, then start getting back to playing well as Kwame gets more into the flow of things. When he has his confidence (which is usually a result of increased minutes) he can be a very capable starter on both ends of the floor.
I'm pretty sure his ear will be bugged with plenty of "contract year" talk, so he has no choice but to perform. He just needs to play hard and hold it down until Bynum reclaims his starting spot upon returning, which I think he will despite the nonsense that Phil is talking.
To add to that, it's not that I defend Kwame, it's that I think he's serves his role on the Lakers, and I don't see us finding anyone better to backup Bynum, to be honest with you. I'm aware of his deficiencies, but then again, my expectations of him are generally lower than most around these parts. I don't really expect him to be a dominant offensive player, and IMO he'll never be as good as Bynum in that department, but we're still not a terrible team with him starting as long as he continues to play how Phil wants him to. I think right now he's not really in game shape and hasn't gotten his "groove" back just yet, but with increased minutes I do expect for him to perform much better.
In closing, I generally put more stock into defense than I do offense, so it's easy to understand why I generally like Kwame as a player. He frustrates the hell out of me when he bobbles passes, but he's an excellent defender when healthy, and I think that's what the team really needs to focus more on (and we have). I like that we score more points and whatnot, but the reality is that we can be shut down by the defensive powerhouses (SA, Boston, Detroit) in the league, so to realistically compete, we need to improve our defense. That's where I see Kwame's value.
"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere." - Carl Sagan
— Mags
