Is JC a difference maker?

[Lakers05]

Something I notice about the last few losses, JC hasn't played in any of them. IMO, we easily could have lost to Seattle too, if it weren't for the fact that he made a couple of big plays when we were down by 10 in the 4th. Now he's been a little erratic, but when has that actually cost us? Boston's game was the only one I remember, but let's be honest, no one could have made a difference in his place. JC strikes me as the type who'll play much better when he senses that the game is in danger. In other words, he's a gamer. On the other hand, Sasha is the opposite. Even now, when he has all the confidence he needs(thinking that he's actually better than JC) and is playing well(by his standard), you still can't rely on him when you need him.

I refuse to believe how this team's 2nd unit can look so good with Bynum, yet struggles so much without him. Yet right now, you simply cannot trust this current team when Kobe sits(not even for a split second it seems), whereas you could do that when JC was in the rotation. Compare the Seattle game to this one, and there is a huge difference in "calmness" when Kobe sits(IMO, made a big difference to how Kobe was able to close out the game.) Granted, it was Seattle, however, it was a back-to-back, so it kind of evens out.

Now Ariza has been out too(although he didn't do much in that Seattle game), so the difference has to be either Ariza or JC, or both.

[Gerald3Wallace]

i like JC as much as any JC fan..but the real reason why we lost is bynum...we miss his post precense and defense down low...but i do like JC and hope he gets more PT

[Teen Girl Squad]

Except for a play here and there, I honestly havent seen much of anything out of him. At least not enough to justify the man-love most lakers fans seem to have with him.

[Tommy Trojan]

We have no big man able to score and and inforce the paint, that's what the problem is

[Lakers05]

Except for a play here and there, I honestly havent seen much of anything out of him. At least not enough to justify the man-love most lakers fans seem to have with him.

The problem is that we've been mostly putting him in "easy" situations. We haven't been putting him in "medium" situations and see how he responds.

What do I mean by medium? Well, for example, when the team has a 4-6 point lead when Kobe sits, knowing that if they can just keep holding a little more, Kobe'll come back soon. That situation where you put a sense of urgency, but not quite desperation, in the players. It's what Greg Popovich calls the "appropriate fear." Put him in situations where he doesn't feel too tense, and knows he has a margin to spare.

Now I specifically used medium instead of tough, i.e the Boston and Knicks games, where the fear to lose and make mistakes is high, and that can tense the players up.

Now I'm not saying to put him in this situation, but to clear my point a little further, the situations I'm talking about can be equate to having a 2-point lead, instead of a 2-point deficit with 35 sec left. So now the players know that if you miss, you still have a margin to spare.

[Lakers05]

We have no big man able to score and and inforce the paint, that's what the problem is

Our problem is a lot more than that. Our problem is we don't have another starter besides Kobe. Now, we can keep bashing Kwame, but let's face it, until Bynum gets back, we don't have another option.

On the other hand, we might have an option in JC that can upgrade our guard play. And truth is, aside from Farmar, our guard play has been just as inconsistent.

[dockingsched]

the difference between the bench play with critt and after sasha's return is pretty dramatic imo. sasha is simply a better option right now than critt.

[Lakers05]

the difference between the bench play with critt and after sasha's return is pretty dramatic imo. sasha is simply a better option right now than critt.

Umm, our bench has sucked MAJORLY without Crit. Now, our bench was in a bit of a lull when Bynum was dominating during that stretch. But like I said before, it could be because they didn't feel a sense of urgency, i.e the situations were too "easy."

You saw what happened against the Sonics. That was pretty much the last game, where I felt comfortable with Kobe on the bench.

Let's examine ALL the games since Bynum went down VERY carefully. Sasha played well against Phoenix, however, I wasn't impressed in the least bit, because I knew that he felt no pressure, since we didn't have a chance to win anyway. The game against San Antonio, now I was impressed in this game, because not only did he make a few shots, he played good D on Ginobilli. However, when it got tighter in the 2nd half, he still choked. We can conclude that even with Sasha's best game, he's not a difference maker. He simply doesn't have that capability.

The rest of the games, he didn't make a difference either way.

[That Nicka]

Jesus Christ?

[That Nicka]

Except for a play here and there, I honestly havent seen much of anything out of him. At least not enough to justify the man-love most lakers fans seem to have with him.

last year i thought the same thing about Farmar.. and he was actually getting more minutes than Critt is this year

[lakeshow248]

For me Jarvaris Crittenton will be the future PG in LA and like it took Kobe until his third year to start the same might be true for J Critt. I think he has showed small flashes of talent but for me J Critt and Bynum will be the 5 yrs plan type thing.

Kobe won't be around D Fish won't and hopefully J Kidd is landed by trading Farmar. Critt may become main back up nxt year and the starter the following year that is my prediction and Farmar will be traded.

For now I like Sasha's shooting he is their best shooter in my opinion from the bench.....Critt will have to earn his time just like Kobe so many yrs ago....

[dockingsched]

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Umm, our bench has sucked MAJORLY without Crit. Now, our bench was in a bit of a lull when Bynum was dominating during that stretch. But like I said before, it could be because they didn't feel a sense of urgency, i.e the situations were too "easy."

You saw what happened against the Sonics. That was pretty much the last game, where I felt comfortable with Kobe on the bench.

Let's examine ALL the games since Bynum went down VERY carefully. Sasha played well against Phoenix, however, I wasn't impressed in the least bit, because I knew that he felt no pressure, since we didn't have a chance to win anyway. The game against San Antonio, now I was impressed in this game, because not only did he make a few shots, he played good D on Ginobilli. However, when it got tighter in the 2nd half, he still choked. We can conclude that even with Sasha's best game, he's not a difference maker. He simply doesn't have that capability.

The rest of the games, he didn't make a difference either way.

your best example is when the ENTIRE team choked?

[LLcoleJ]

No

[Lakers05]

-= original quote snipped =-



your best example is when the ENTIRE team choked?

The entire team choked because we have no one to penetrate, which forces Kobe to do that by himself. And when Kobe is out of energy and/or is being guarded by a great defender, it has a cascading effect.

Now not saying that Crit would have made a difference(he'd have to play in place of both Fisher and Sasha to do that). What I'm saying is that with Sasha, you really have no chance of him being a difference maker. With Crit, what you hope for is he plays well enough so that he replaces not just Sasha, but Fish also.

IMO, this is the problem with relying on one-dimensional shooters. They're so reliant on others that the moment that one piece is out, they're useless.

[joe.linnen]

Remember the game we played against the 76ers he played that game very well and we beat them 124-93. It also dosent mean that he''s the reason why we won that game as I recall everybody played that game very well. during that game only one person shot under 50% that game. The point that I'm making is that were a team and it dosen't matter who is the best player or who is the worst play . THE ONLY THING THAT MATTER IS THE THEY ALL DO THIER PART.


Walton 3-3 100%
Turiaf 5-7 71.4%
Bynum 6-8 75%
Bryant 5-9 55.5%
Fisher 7-12 58.3%
Ariza 4-7 57.1%
Farmar 7-10 70%
Crittenton 7-9 77.7%
Brown 2-3 66.6%
Karl 1-3 33.3%

Javaris Crittenton
19PTS
3AST
2RED
7-9FGM-A
5-5FTM-A


Andrew Bynum
17PTS
16REB
4AST
3BLK
6-8FGM-A
5-6FTM-A


THEY BOTH PLAYED VERY WELL THAT GAME

[MAMBAEMD]

JC is not a difference maker YET in our system.
He has shown a lot of ability and talent, but has shown very little understanding of our offense and ability to run it.
When he gets in, he does his own thing out there which may work in other offenses but not ours. That's why Farmar and Sasha get the nod (even if they may have less talent )because they operate within the system.

[B-Scott]

Id like to see us change our starting lineup and this would allow Critt to be the PG off the bench

Starters

C Kwame
PF Lamar
SF Kobe
SG Fisher
PG Farmar

Bench

Critt, Sasha, Luke, Rad, Turiaf

Utah played Fisher at SG a lot last season and he was actually a better defender at SG then at the point. Fisher surprisingly defends shooting guards very well.

[Lakers05]

Remember the game we played against the 76ers he played that game very well and we beat them 124-93. It also dosent mean that he''s the reason why we won that game as I recall everybody played that game very well. during that game only one person shot under 50% that game. The point that I'm making is that were a team and it dosen't matter who is the best player or who is the worst play . THE ONLY THING THAT MATTER IS THE THEY ALL DO THIER PART.


Walton 3-3 100%
Turiaf 5-7 71.4%
Bynum 6-8 75%
Bryant 5-9 55.5%
Fisher 7-12 58.3%
Ariza 4-7 57.1%
Farmar 7-10 70%
Crittenton 7-9 77.7%
Brown 2-3 66.6%
Karl 1-3 33.3%

Javaris Crittenton
19PTS
3AST
2RED
7-9FGM-A
5-5FTM-A


Andrew Bynum
17PTS
16REB
4AST
3BLK
6-8FGM-A
5-6FTM-A


THEY BOTH PLAYED VERY WELL THAT GAME

I was a lot more impressed with Crit in the Seattle game than the Sixers game. Just as I ain't going to credit Sasha for playing well in a game where I think the outcome has already been decided, I'm not going to do the same with Crit(unless he does it consistently, in which case, we know he's ready to start, problem is, there has been so little opportunities that he hasn't even had a chance to adjust so that he can do that consistently.)

[islander009]

What about letting JC play in our D-league and then calling him up like Farmar last year. There has been times when JC has shown glimpses of great ball handling and surprises on the court. But if we arent going to play him right now when we could really see his potential, why not let him work the triangle in the d-league. that way hes more confident running it and figuring out where he should be and how to run it well.

[LakerFanSince84]

the difference between the bench play with critt and after sasha's return is pretty dramatic imo. sasha is simply a better option right now than critt.

That's why you consider Sasha as a Key Role player? Critt can CREATE for others as well as himself, it's a shame phil never plays him with Kobe and Farmar at the time. Sasha does two things, one of them well--Catch and Shoot